Environment, skill ministries ink pact to train technicians

The ministries of skill development and environment today signed a pact for up-skilling of refrigeration and air-conditioning technicians for the benefit of the environment and better employment opportunities.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan pointed out that even prior to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding today, the ministry had launched a Green Skill Mission.

Under the Mission, within the next three years, training will be imparted to 5.86 lakh people, he added.

He said courses to provide skill development to scientists and technicians have also been drawn up in the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan invited the leaders of the industry to invest in equal measure in the initiative to skill technicians.

"I urge the industry to make equal contribution towards training of such technicians so that we further strengthen our industries and our youth. The focus on skill development should be as much as we have on research and production," Pradhan said.

He underlined that it is imperative that the two ministries work in close conjunction with the respective Sector Skill Councils to identify the new-age job roles which are relevant to the market today.

"Through this MoU 1 lakh AC technicians will be trained & certified on new & emerging technologies with an investment of nearly 40 Cr. These highly skilled & trained professionals will provide better output with efficiency & quality eventually benefiting the industry as well," Pradhan tweeted.