Tech Edu dept to rope in agencies with industry links for vocational training

KOLKATA: The state Technical Education, Training & Skill Development (TET & SD) department will now engage only those training partners for imparting vocational training, which have industry connection and the ability to provide demand driven training.

"We have decided to shift to the RDB (Recruit, Train and Employ) training format with the requirements of the industry changing with each passing day. Presently, we have around 5,000 training partners and some of their training standards have been found to be outmoded and below par. We have decided to engage only those training partners that have industry background," Humayun Kabir, state TET & SD minister, said.

Sources in the department said it was also trying to rope in training partners from outside Bengal and even abroad. "We are seeking help from the industry bodies like CII, Bengal Chamber of Commerce for this purpose and already nine such agencies have submitted proposals for such training," a senior official from the department added.

Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi recently held a high-level meeting to pave the way for bringing in professionalism in vocational training. Besides, senior officials of the department, including the minister, and the District Magistrates, attended the meeting virtually.

"There will be nodal officers (officers in the rank of ADM) in each district for supervision of such training and a committee at the government level will also be constituted for this purpose," the official said.

The state government has already converged the skill development training programmes offered by departments like Animal Resources Development, Minority Affairs etc under the TET & SD department.

The department had earlier cancelled affiliations of 70 odd training providers after gross irregularities were found in the execution of the training programmes. The training providers were roped in by the Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), under the aegis of National Skill Development Corporation to offer training under PBSSD (Paschim Banga Society for Skill Development) for placement-linked short-term skill trainings in the state. The department of TET & SD has launched 'Utkarsh Bangla', a flagship scheme, on February 16, 2016 under the aegis of the PBSSD.