Government to train plumbers for global market: Rudy

Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Saturday said the government will provide training to plumbers in various skills required to compete in the global market.

Rudy, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, was speaking at a National Plumbing Skill Conclave here.

"This is an initiative towards Skill India mission. We want to train 40 crore youth in various skills. Plumbing as an industry has never got its due in India," he said.

"We have decided to provide quality training and development to the youth about plumbing," the Minister said.

He said the government wishes to support plumbers through easy bank loans so that they are equipped with best tools and can become self-employed.

Speaking on preparing plumbers for the global market, Rudy said: "We want to create best quality plumbing professionals who can work not only in India but also in other parts of the world."

He advised the Indian Plumbing Skill Council (IPSC) to provide training in language and laws of other countries so that they can function without any hassle.

IPSC is an industry body which provides certified training to plumbers and is one of the 40 Skill Councils under the National Skill Development Corporation which is part of the Skill India programme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Maj. Gen. P.K. Chaddha (Retd), officiating CEO of IPSC, said: "About 90 per cent of the plumbing industry workforce in India is not professionally trained. Most of the skill learning in the industry happens through unstructured, on-the job training."

"The plumbing industry faces the mammoth challenge of huge gap between supply and demand of skilled workforce," he added.

Through Skill Mela & Conclave, IPSC is creating different types of competitions among plumbers and will select six teams each from Delhi and Hyderabad. Of these teams, one winning team would participate in the World Skills Competition which will be held at Abu Dhabi on October 14-19, 2017.

IPSC is creating National Occupational Standards (NOS), development of training curriculum, and developing the job roles which are in demand in India and abroad.

The market of plumbing products in India is estimated at Rs 20,000 crore.

--IANS

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