Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan chaired a review meeting at the Secretariat on skill development and employment programmes, where officials discussed training initiatives, employment generation, placement, and the state’s future strategy in detail.
The Chief Secretary directed that skill development programmes be designed in line with the current and future needs of industries. He also emphasized providing quality training based on the interests of young people and local employment requirements, while ensuring that trained youth are connected with both employment and self-employment opportunities.
Bardhan instructed all departments associated with skill development to work through a common platform so that young people can access government schemes more easily. To support the state’s vision of becoming a Skill Hub, he directed the Secretary of Skill Development to prepare a comprehensive dashboard in consultation with the SETU Aayog and all relevant stakeholders.
Secretary for Skill Development and Employment C. Ravishankar informed the meeting that Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) are being upgraded to meet industry standards in collaboration with the School Education, Higher Education, Technical Education, and Medical Education departments. Uttarakhand currently has 119 ITIs, of which 90 have already been mapped onto the state portal. Short-term training courses have also been introduced in partnership with Tata Technologies.
He added that discussions are underway with three agencies to provide internationally recognised training, language proficiency, and other essential skills through Skill India International Centres, enabling Uttarakhand’s youth to access employment opportunities abroad.
Ravishankar also said that private employers are being registered on the Rojgar Prayag Portal. So far, 162 private employers have joined the platform, with the objective of expanding employment opportunities for young people across the state.
