Guj govt to set up 165 new skill development centres for youth

Gujarat government today announced setting up of 165 skill development centres in the state with the help of industries.
"The skill development centres will be started with the help of industries. 125 such industries have been identified by the state labour department," Saurabh Patel, Labour and Employment Minister of Gujarat, told reporters here.
"We will sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with them. To increase the employability, we will focus on increasing the industries in Gujarat. With this vision, we are going to open 165 new skill development centres in the towns or villages which have population of five thousand people. The new centres will cost Rs 25 crore to the Labour Department," he said.

But these centres will be managed and financed by the industries as part of their corporate social responsibility, he added.
These skill development centres will run various short-term and long-term certification courses.
The state Labour Minister has also announced to launch a 'Kaushal Rath Yojna' (mobile centres for skill development) under the skill development project.

"Four 'Kaushal Raths' will be introduced in the first phase. This will help the youths, who live in the remote areas, to gain skills," said Patel.
The state government has also announced to open 'overseas employment centres' in Ahmedabad and Vadodara for the youths who want to work or study abroad.

"The overseas employment centres will educate the promising youth regarding visa or passport process. The centres will also organise placement camps to employ those youths, " Patel added.
At present 335 skill development centres are in operation in the state.