The State would participate in the skill improvement project of the Centre so as to transform unskilled manpower into skilled workforce, said Rajendra Ratnoo, Director of Technical Education, Government of Tamil Nadu.
Speaking at the inauguration of a one-day orientation workshop on Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) at the Anna University’s BIT Campus here on Saturday, he said that the State had been providing skill improvement training to more than a lakh candidates under the auspicious of Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation with an objective of imparting employability skills to youth for gainful employment. Youths were given training on various specialisations. The Centre’s scheme, PMKVY, would supplement the State project of skill improvement.
Stating that the service sector contributed nearly 70 per cent of the State’s Gross Domestic Project, Mr. Ratnoo said the sector had been a biggest job provider. However, a majority of them were unskilled workers. All of them should be transformed into skilled workers. It would be possible if the AICTE that spearheaded the PMKVY project had a detailed survey of unskilled workers in various industries such as construction, retail and hospitality. The AICTE should immediately launch a survey on the availability of unskilled workers in the State.
Engineering and polytechnic institutions in the State produced about 2.79 lakh degree and diploma holders every year. However, there was a need to impart soft and employability skills to them, he added.
N. Siddalingaswamy, Director, e-Governance Cell, AICTE, New Delhi, said the PMKVY was aimed at providing skill training to 10.5 lakh youths in the country within three years. They would be trained in various government and private technical institutes across the country. Institutions in the States of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had shown enormous interest on partnering with the AICTE for providing training to dropouts and unskilled youths. About 165 institutions in the State had been approved for imparting skills, he added.
P. Kranthi Kumar, Assistant Collector, Training, Tiruchi, R. Balamurugan, Regional Officer, AICTE, Chennai, T. Senthil Kumar, Dean, Anna University, BIT campus, Tiruchi, and B. Dhanasekar, Head, HR, Logistics Skill Council, spoke.
