Shillong, November 15: Meghalaya got an assurance of support from the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) for implementation of skill development programmes in the state. The assurance came following a meeting between chief minister Mukul Sangma and NSDA chairman S Ramadorai in Shillong on Friday where in the latter assured support in skill development and that would give ‘value-added jobs’.
As government jobs in Meghalaya has almost reached saturation point, the Meghalaya government is looking to train at least 1,96,000 people in various skills that would assured them employment. The target is for the current 12th plan period while the national target is around 5 crore.
During the meeting with Sangma, Ramadorai made it clear that the state government may have plans that look impressive but what really matters for achieving the desire target of employment is the implementation at the ground.
After the meeting with Sangma, Ramadorai told reporters, “One of the major concerns is the implementation on the ground. You may have a great strategy, but unless people deliver on the ground within a time frame, impact will not be there. We have to take implementation very seriously.”
Ramadorai also said that the government needs to take the training into the interiors of the state and not just in Shillong. He was also of the opinion that the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) need to explore the possibility of running these institutes on a Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) mode.
Speaking about the courses of the ITIs, Ramadorai said, “We also need to modify the courses which are relevant for getting jobs both within and outside the state.” He said there is no dearth of funding for the training the youths as there are many channels of funding like through PPP mode or through institutional mechanism funding like the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma said the major thrust areas for the youths of the state where employment opportunities are bright are agriculture, horticulture, livestock farming, masonry, plumber, food processing, sericulture and weaving, and soft skills. He also said that there has been a proposal to run the ITIs in Shillong and Tura under PPP mode.
Sangma said that creation of infrastructure to impart training was also equally important. He felt support for funding of building infrastructure from the Planning Commission and the union finance ministry is very important even as he informed that the Planning Commission has already been approached for more funds, which would be an addition to the annual plan size received earlier this year.- By Our Reporter
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