The Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) — an initiative of the Department of Higher Education — is gearing up to roll out the first phase of the Community Skill Parks programme that is expected to play a pivotal role in fostering an industry-led skill ecosystem in the State.
In the first phase, nine parks would be set up across the State. Designed to be multi-skill training centres, each park can, at a time, host 2,000 trainees. The park would also work as consultancy centres for industries, industry associations, and local governments.
The parks, according to the CSP Concept Note sourced from the ASAP, are expected to cater to the lifelong education and training requirements of the local population and would be equipped to design separate programmes for different categories such as students, women, aged people, and migrant labourers. The parks would also offer ‘up-skilling’ programmes for the existing workforce.
With schools, colleges
Each park would be linked to education institutions such as high schools, higher secondary schools, arts and science colleges, engineering colleges, medical and paramedical institutions, industries, training centres, and other such facilities.
The ASAP would sign agreements with these institutions for mutual collaboration. When operating on full-capacity basis, the parks would be hubs of multi-skill development and eventually also carry out functions of a community college that caters to lifelong learning and skill development.
Each park would have a built-up area of 20,000 sq ft to 25,000 sq ft spread over two floors and would sport four training rooms.
These four ‘quadrants’ of training would be for different types of training programmes: information and communication technology, precision engineering, heavy machinery and activity-based training.
The parks would also have modular office spaces for auxiliary services . This would enable customisation of dimensions for changing needs of training programmes.
50 companies
According to P.M. Riyas, head of strategies at ASAP, over 50 companies have sent in expressions of interest to set up shop in the nine parks being constructed across the State. This includes a major skills training company from Australia. “The government eventually plans to set up 20 parks all over the State. The first nine are expected to start functioning by May 2018. From among those who have sent in expressions of interest, we plan to call for request for proposals shortly,” he added.
