Himachal Pradesh on Monday signed 17 memoranda of understanding(MoUs) in skill development with industrial organisations.
The MoUs were signed between the Himachal Pradesh Kaushal Vikas Nigam and 17 industrial organisations, including the National Skill Development Corporation, in the presence of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
The chief minister also launched the Himachal Pradesh Skill Development Initiative aimed at increasing employment opportunities, said an official statement.
Virbhadra Singh said the signing of MoUs would give an edge to the state on skilling, assessment and placement issues.
He said setting up of the Kaushal Vikas Nigam was a major initiative of the state which would go a long way in improving coordination and reducing duplication in the skill development programmes being run by various departments.
He said the important part of the skill development initiative was launching of the Skill Development Allowance Scheme for the educated unemployed youth.
The government had also decided to upgrade the skills of building and other construction workers by allocating 20 percent of the cess funds for skilling initiatives, he said.
He said the state was also planning to open a skill development university which would give fillip to skill development.
National Skill Development Corporation chief executive Jayant Krishna stressed the need for formal skilling and training for which the industrial sector would have to play bigger role.
He said a target of skilling 50 crore people had been set by the government of India which was the largest initiative in the field of skill development across the globe.
