Government Seeks Industry Partnerships to Upgrade 1000 ITIs Across India: Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, MSDE

Sep 26, 2024

Skill Development Ministry to launch skills voucher system very soon.

 

NEW DELHI. September 26, 2024: The government is actively seeking industry partnerships to upgrade 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) nationwide as part of a major initiative to enhance the country's skill development ecosystem. This ambitious plan, unveiled by Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, aims to transform 200 ITIs into hub institutions, with 800 more serving as spoke facilities.

 

Speaking on day 2 of FICCI's Global Skills Summit 2024, Tiwari announced that the ministry would soon launch a skill voucher system.

 

"We would like to work on a system whereby industries can align and partner with us to improve 200 hub ITIs and 800 spoke ITIs," Tiwari stated. "We will launch the skills voucher system very soon as well."

 

The Secretary highlighted two fundamental changes reshaping India's skill development approach. First, the introduction of the National Credit Framework under the National Education Policy has integrated skilling and education in terms of credits. Besides, regulations now mandate that up to 50% of degree course content to be skill-based or vocational education-based.

 

Secondly, efforts are underway to incorporate skilling into mainstream education. "The curriculum for classes 6 to 12 has been revised, and skilling and application-based learning have found their place," Tiwari explained. He also mentioned ongoing work on apprenticeship-embedded degree programmes, which will give industry a defined role alongside academia and students.

 

Tiwari emphasised the government's commitment to aligning skill development with industry requirements. "The government's intent is very clear that they would like to engage with the industry on different methods so that we can bring the skilling part in line with the industry's requirements," he said.

 

The Secretary called for greater collaboration between industry, academia, and government to scale upskilling efforts. 

 

Ms Madhu Srivastava, Co-Chair, FICCI HR & Skills Committee and CHRO, Vedanta Resources, also spoke on occasion.