Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Wednesday handed out skill development and employment certificates to 56 retiring air force personnel.
The defence ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the skill development ministry to train the retiring defence personnel so that they could easily get civilian jobs post-service.
Indian Air Force chief, Air Marshal Arup Raha said the retiring personnel were well trained and they can contribute to nation building post-retirement.
"Every year, around 5,000 officers retire from IAF. But they don't get jobs commensurate with their knowledge and experience. But during this pilot project, 56 IAF personnel were trained and they all were offered the job. This is a good start," Raha said.
The defence minister said the government hoped to utilise the skills of all the 50,000 defence personnel who retire every year.
"Even after retiring from defence services, the armed forces personnel can serve the nation through trained manpower. In the next two years, hopefully there won't be a single defence personnel who would have question mark about his career post-retirement", the defence minister said.
The 56 IAF personnel were trained in three streams -- electronics, automotive and healthcare -- on pilot basis.
Stressing the need for skilled manpower in the country, Rudy said retiring defence officers can fill the gap.
"The biggest problem we are facing today is that we don't have trainers and assessors. The retiring armed forces personnel can fill the gap. The general misconception is that a retiring army man is only be good for a security related jobs. But their caliber is way beyond this," Rudy said.
He also added the government would open an international placement cell for the retiring defence personnel.
Meanwhile, National Skill Development Corporation CEO Jayant Krishna said in the next phase more sectors would be added to the list of offering for the retiring IAF personnel.
"This was just a pilot phase and it was successful. NSDC is also working with Indian Army and Indian Navy on the same model adopted by the IAF and shall be launching the pilot programme with them shortly," Krishna said.
--IANS
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