Purnendu calls for focus in skill development in jute sector

West Bengal Technical Education minister Purnendu Basu today urged the jute sector to focus in skill development.
"There is not much demand of apprentices from industry. At least, jute sector is doing more or less good and so skilling should be in that sector to protect it and Indian Jute Mills Association should come forward in this regard," Basu said.
He also said there was need for skilling the existing informal sector workers to empower them for better adaptability in the service sectors they are engaged into.
Skilling micro-farmers will be a major effort of the government, the minister said.

He also mentioned about 16 skill sectors signing MoUs for national level Assessments and Certification.
Meanwhile, former IJMA chairman Sanjay Kajaria said there is huge skill gap in the jute industry at the time when new a lot new technology had been introduced.
"The annual gap will be to the tune of 15,000 skilled manpower required for the industry to run the new machines and processes," he said.