Govt holds first-ever meeting with garage owners to push training, welfare schemes

Kolkata: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the state Transport department, in collaboration with the Technical Education, Training and Skill Development (TET&SD) department and the Labour department, held an administrative meeting with garage owners from across the state to raise awareness about skill development opportunities and social welfare schemes available for garage workers.

Held at the Calcutta University Institute Hall on Tuesday, the meeting brought together 250 garage owners from 23 districts. The primary aim was to integrate garage workers, a largely unorganised sector, into formal skill development frameworks, particularly under the state’s flagship ‘Utkarsh Bangla’ scheme. Officials also shared information on welfare schemes designed to benefit these workers. An interactive session was held to address the garage owners’ concerns and gather their suggestions.

State Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty said: “Never before has such a dialogue been held with those involved in vehicle repairs. Our goal is to include them under social welfare schemes and ensure skill development training through Utkarsh Bangla, turning them into skilled workers.” He noted that a skilled workforce can significantly reduce road accidents, as vehicle condition plays a key role in road safety.

The minister also emphasised the need for a state-level association of garage owners to streamline communication with government departments. “Without representation, it’s difficult to address issues or move forward with these initiatives,” he added. Transport Secretary Saumitra Mohan informed that garage owners were provided forms to assess the number of employees in need of skill development training and what type skill development training they require. “With increasing competition from corporate players, upskilling grassroots-level garage workers is critical to survive. Today’s meeting initiated that much-needed dialogue,” he said. Highlighting available training opportunities, TET&SD department’s senior Special Secretary Joyoshi Das Gupta shared that 14 transport-related courses are available under the Utkarsh Bangla scheme. These include, 3 to 4-month short-term courses for new entrants, 3-day certification programmes for experienced workers and 80-hour (20-day) upskilling modules that certify prior experience and introduce new techniques. All training is provided free of cost, and trainees receive a daily stipend during the course.

The Transport department has submitted a State Skill Development Plan (SSDP) targeting 7,000 transport sector workers to the TET&SD department. Currently under review, the plan includes training for workers in both road and water transport sectors, such as drivers, conductors, mechanics, technicians, gig workers, masters, sarengs and laskars. While preparing the SSDP, the inclusion of garage workers was considered essential due to their critical role in maintaining the transport system.

Garage employees were also encouraged to enrol in the Labour Department’s ‘Bina Mulya Samajik Suraksha Yojana’ (BM-SSY), which provides provident fund, and death/disability benefits. Joint Labour Commissioner Shyama Prasad Kundu informed that over 1.89 crore unorganised workers in the state have registered under BM-SSY, including 19,401 garage workers.