Chandigarh : Saddled with old machinery and outdated curriculum, industrial training institutes (ITIs) in Punjab are not producing students who match up to industry requirements. The worrying fact about the poor skill level of students graduating from ITIs has been pointed out in Punjab Skill Development Mission’s (PSDM’s) skill-gap analysis conducted in four districts — Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.
In all, Punjab has 375 ITIs with around 50,000 students, located in different parts of the state. Of these, 115 are government and the remaining are private. The report says machines and equipment used for teaching at these institutes are decades-old and will not help students prepare for modern-day industry. Poor quality of training compels industry to invest in on-the-job training of the new workforce, despite certification.
To overcome the problem, industry players have expressed interest to partner with the government in upgrading machines and equipment required for equiping students with relevant skills.
For bringing ITIs and polytechnics on a par with industry expectations, PSDM has recommended proactive use of industry-academia platform, and periodic review of curriculum with industry participation to ensure the relevance of skill.
The analysis has also highlighted absence of industrial training in diploma-level curriculum, resulting in gap between requirements of industrial environment and training provided in institutions. Emphasis has been laid on providing six-month industrial training to help students develop relevant skills. It has also been recommended to involve industry in undertaking skill development.
Secretary (technical education) and Punjab Skill Development Mission mission director D K Tiwari said the purpose of conducting the skill-gap analysis was to know shortcomings and take appropriate action. “We have started working on deficiencies to ensure our students get best training,” said Tewari.
Unhappy Students
Only 27% of students who participated in the youth-perception survey expressed satisfaction with the existing infrastructure and equipment at training centres. Though the trainers of PSDM have undergone training of trainer programme, their skillset gets outdated and redundant quickly due to minimal involvement with industry, dynamics of which change rapidly. Regular engagement of trainers with industry has been recommended to keep them updated with changing trends.
Note: News shared for public awareness with reference from the information provided in print and online platforms. Read SKILL REPORTER or Follow SKILLREPORTER on Facebook / Twitter / Linkedin / Google to stay updated with RFP, Tenders, EOI, Jobs, Notifications, Schemes, Projects, News etc. related to Skill Development
