MSDE conducts consultation workshops with industry experts to enhance ITI ecosystem

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) held a consultation session with industrialists on August 29 to strengthen and upgrade Industrial Training Institutions (ITIs) across the country. More than 75 company representatives attended the industry consultation session. The consultation was held in the wake of the “PM’s Package for Employment and Skilling”, which was announced in the Union Budget 2024 presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The consultation aimed to initiate the designing of the industry collaboration component, which may include – areas of designing new courses, revamping existing ITI courses, industry faculty for new courses, training of trainers (ToT), and on-the-job training (OJT) among others.

The MSDE also proposed the upgrade of 200 ITIs as ‘hubs’ and 800 remaining ITIs into the ‘spoke model.’ The hub ITIs will also be known as ‘Centres of Excellence’.

The companies can also provide managerial support, trainers, advanced equipment, and even CSR contributions to ensure the smooth execution of the scheme, adds the official statement.

The selection of ITIs will be based on a challenging method, along with upgrading five National Institutes for Training of Trainers (ToT). These will also include upgrading existing courses according to the current requirements of the industry and creating new ones.

Also read NITI Aayog suggests separate board, centralised admission test for ITIs

According to the report, the government will oversee the implementation of the scheme, with a focus on ensuring transparency, accountability, and effective use of resources.

The state minister of MSDE, Jayant Chaudhary, said: “Today we are at an inflection point where policies, global best practices, partner countries pathways for apprenticeship and internships are being opened”

The secretary of MSDE, Atul Kumar Tiwari, stated: “We are fully committed to fostering Public-Private Partnerships, co-developing a future-ready curriculum, and advancing our Trainer of Trainers (ToT) programs.”