Skill council to train manpower for oil and gas sector

A Hydrocarbon Sector Skill Council, on the lines of National Skill Development Corp, will be set up to train manpower for the oil and gas sector.
A memorandum of understanding for the establishment of Hydrocarbon Sector Skill Council (HSSC) was signed today between Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB) and Petroleum Federation of India (PetroFed), an official statement said here.
Speaking on the occasion, Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae said that HSSC will help augment availability of skilled manpower for the oil and gas sector.
"HSSC will focus on short-term training for persons / workmen who possess the minimum essential qualifications required by the oil and gas industry," the statement said.

It will impart training in a phased manner in 200 trades already identified based on the feedback of the industry to about 19 lakh persons over a period of 10 years through training institutes.
The functions of HSSC would include conducting skill gap studies, developing National Occupational Standards, imparting accreditation/affiliation of training providers, setting-up an effective Labour Market Information System, facilitating training of trainers and training of assessors and identifying training institutes.
"The revenue model may be based on an initial grant from the National Skill Development Council and thereafter by certification fee from learners and accreditation fees besides CSR funds of various organizations," it added.

Energy majors like ONGC, OIL, Cairn, HPCL, BPCL, IOCL, GAIL, EIL, RIL and IOTL have agreed to support and participate in the proposed HSSC.