Odisha plans advance skill training institutes with Rs 1,000 cr outlay

Institutes will be modelled around best in world in terms of physical and intellectual infrastructure

Aiming to skill 0.8 million in three years, Odisha government plans to set up eight advanced skill training institutes with an outlay of  Rs 1,000 crore.

 “Three years from now, every graduate of an ITI (industrial training institutes) of the state will be at the fore front of technology. With a massive outlay of Rs 1000 crores, with loan assistance of Asian Development Bank, the eight advanced skill training institutes will come up in different parts of the state”, said Chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the launch of Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) here.

These will be modelled around the best in the world in terms of physical and intellectual infrastructure to impart training to our youths. Our existing ITIs will be paired with them in a hub and spoke model so that their standards in providing high quality technical training can be jacked up, he added. 

It may be noted that newly formed OSDA, with MindTree’s co-founder Subroto Bagchi as its chairman, is adopting a set of 20 goals over the next 18 months under different categories. 

All of them come together to form the overarching Vision: "8 lakhs skilled in 3 years". This number is the number of all employable youths of the state. This number is both a reality and a powerful force; a force that wants to go somewhere. Our job is to provide the escape velocity and the initial trajectory for them," said Panaik. 

The focus is mainly on three key areas in next 18 months. These are revamping of existing ITIs, partnering with ADB to set up eight super state of the art advanced skill training institutes and working with short term skill partners to build significant scale, said Bagchi. 

It may be noted, against the target of skilling 1.1 million youths  in five years from 2014-15, 0.33 million youths have already been trained as on March 2016. OSDA plans to create a private public angel fund at the district level where the collectors can give upto Rs one lakh to local entrepreneurs who come up through rural case study competitions, Bagchi added.