The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), entrusted by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) organized a workshop. It has urged engineering colleges to submit applications for enrollment in the Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).
The deadline to submit applications is June 15.
Under the project, colleges will provide training to school dropouts and youth in certain skills that the industry could use. The institutes’ applications would be screened by committees at the state and national level to assess the skills that the industries need, said AICTE Vice-Chairman Avinash S. Pant.
Each admitted candidate would get 250 hours of hands-on training and be paid Rs. 40 per hour of training session. Courses are expected to commence on August 16.
The aim is to put to use the resources of engineering colleges during weekends. But engineering college teachers are not excited, as the target audience has very basic qualification. “Engineering colleges sign agreement with companies to train and employ graduates. As it is, only 70 per cent of the graduates get employment. It would be better if the AICTE can provide the tie-up for employment with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), to make it viable for us,” points out a teacher from a self-financing engineering college.
Sources in the technical education department say the State had pioneered skill training by investing much more. The State pays a stipend of Rs. 6,500 per year and provides study material worth Rs.15,000.
