Centre plans to upgrade 500 ITIs

The Union government has decided to upgrade 500 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country in the next five years in the light of new skills required by industries.

The Aurangabad ITI is among the 100 ITIs going for an upgrade in the first year. It will now become a centre of excellence for production and manufacturing.

12 such institutes in Maharashtra have been selected for the first phase upgrade. These are situated at Pune, Amravati and Nagpur (automobile), Mumbai (electronics), Nasik, Aurangabad (production and manufacturing).

ITIs will be getting a grant of Rs 1.60 crore under the plan. While Rs 75 lakh will be spent on purchasing machines, Rs 40 lakh would go into construction work. The remaining Rs 45 lakh would be spent on other infrastructure upgradation. The Union government will provide 75 per cent of the grant while the state would shell out the rest.

Meanwhile, students have liked the idea of a special sandwich course being offered. 100 seats have been offered under this course.

A special course on production and manufacturing will also been launched at the Aurangabad ITI from this academic year. The first year of the course would comprise of six modules on fitting and measurement, turning and grinding, sheet metal work and welding, C and C hydraulic and pneumatic, milling and electrical & electronics.

It may be noted that ITIs generally offer separate one or two-year courses on all these subjects.

However, the special course will offer training on all these subject under a single course. An ITI lecturer said that industries no longer want a worker who knows the job of only a turner or a fitter. Multi-skilled worker are in demand. The special course will cater to this demand as six subjects have been compressed under one course. Inputs were sought from well-known industrial houses before finalising the curriculum.

Interestingly, the course is very flexible. Students can leave the ITI after one year's training. A student seeking specialisation has the option to stay for six more months and get extra inputs of one of the six modules taught in the first year.