Bring all skill development projects under one umbrella: Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar, May 12: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has directed the state administration to bring all skill development projects under one umbrella with an aim to enhance employability of educated youth.

During a high-level meeting here yesterday, she nominated Financial Commissioner, Planning and Development, B B Vyas, as the Nodal Head of the skill development initiatives so that activities of different departments are coordinated in a much better way, an official spokesman said today.

Mehbooba also asked the state Chief Secretary to create a structure for skill development mission society to oversee progress of skilling programmes of various departments, he added.

"It is the task of different departments to concentrate on their areas of expertise so that youth are provided with base-level and upgraded skills, which would enable them to hunt for jobs which are in sync with market requirement," Mufti, who heads the state skill development mission, said. "Our talented youth need opportunities.Converging skilling efforts as well as financial resources available with us will provide a clear line of action to enable the state to make further progress on this front," she said.

While briefing the Chief Minister on the issue of convergence and building capacities, Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said with the kind of infrastructure available at the state's disposal, it would be very difficult to achieve the targets, unless the intake capacity of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Polytechnics is doubled.

The minister also spoke about NASSCOM mapping wherein each district of the state has been evaluated in terms of a particular skill. "We have worked out a mechanism with private firms wherein our skilled youth will be trained by firms like HAL, BHEL, Bharti Infratel, NTPC and ONGC for corporate jobs," Drabu said.

The Chief Minister suggested transforming ITIs into multi-skill institutes as well as roping in existing school and college infrastructure in the evenings to train more young people.

"Our aim is not only to expand facilities for skill training, but also address the important task of raising their quality," Mehbooba said. While briefing the Chief Minister about creation of Jammu and Kashmir skill development mission society, the Chief Secretary said the modalities would be finalised for sending a proposal to the Cabinet for approval.

This would also pave way for accessing funds from the newly-created Union Skill Development Ministry, the Chief Secretary said.

Asked by Mufti about setting up of an entrepreneurship centre for women in the summer capital, Commissioner Secretary Industries and Commerce (I and C), Shailendra Kumar, suggested that once Directorate of I and C, Kashmir, shifts to the newly-constructed Sanat Ghar at Bemina, the vacated premises at the Residency road can be utilized for setting up of an entrepreneurial centre, the spokesman said.

PTI