The BHEL Small Industries' Association (BHELSIA) and Everonn Skill Development Centre will together commission a training centre at Thuvakudi near here to equip youth with a pass or fail in standard VIII for welding, fitting and painting jobs that would suit manpower requirements of the hundreds of BHEL's vendor units.
The training centre would temporarily function next week onwards from the facility provided by R.K. Charitable Trust with an intake of 30 candidates in the first month.
The Everonn Skill Development Centre will install at the centre a hi-tech equipment costing Rs. 35 lakh that would enable training in welding through simulation technique. From the second month onwards the intake will be doubled. The BHELSIA has with it a list of over 400 eligible non-ITI candidates intending to pursue the course.
At the end of the year-long training programme, the BHELSIA and the Everonn Skill Development Centre will provide course-completion certificate to the candidates.
“We will request the Asian Welding Federation to conduct the test,” BHELSIA president Rajappa Rajkumar informed presspersons on Monday.
For the year long course that would entail a month of theoretical training at the Centre and hands-on exposure in industries owned by BHELSIA members, each candidate will be charged Rs. 10,000 (Rs. 1,000 towards entry fee and Rs. 9,000 as course fee).
Each candidate will be given monthly stipend of Rs. 5,000. Banks have expressed readiness to provide loans for course fee.
On its part, the BHELSIA has approached the NABARD for a subsidy of Rs. 5,000 out of course fee, Mr. Rajappa Rajkumar said.
The BHELSIA will look after accommodation of the candidates and will also engage women entrepreneurs for making food arrangements.
For establishing the permanent campus, the BHELSIA has plans to approach the State Ministry of Industries and Commerce to spare the building established years ago for establishment of Electronics Estate.
Since the project did not take off, the building remains unused. The BHELSIA is eager to secure the building, which, Mr. Rajkumar says, will suit the requirement of the skill training centre on a permanent basis.
