Skill Ministry plans grand convocation for ITI students

The Skill Development Ministry is planning a grand convocation for ITI students with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as chief guest, as part of the Skill India drive.
Minister of State for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that for the first time, the country will witness this event as convocations have so far been held only at big colleges and universities.
"For the first time in the country, we will organise convocation for students passing out from ITIs. We will do this in a grand manner. They would also wear robes and caps. I have requested the Prime Minister for this," he told reporters here.

He also said there is a need to address overcapacity in engineering colleges.
On the occasion of completion of two years of the Modi government, he said Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) has witnessed more than 20 lakh people being trained in their choice of skills, of which 40 per cent are women.
"At another level, there has been a consistent effort on coordination and convergence of innumerable schemes run by various ministries and departments across sectors and states so as to bring them in conformity with national standards, common norms and local requirements," he said.

Emphasising on the need to have better connect of skills with employability, Rudy mentioned that provision of a skilled workforce is a pre-requisite for a growing economy and success of various other initiatives of the government, including Make in India.

He also said there have been MoUs with ministries, including the Railways, Defence and health, to leverage existing infrastructure and opportunities for skill development across sectors.
Some 52 skill centres on railway premises have been identified so far, of which 12 are already operational.
The ministry has also created a new model for skilling of retiring defence personnel to meet trainer demand in the ecosystem and has successfully completed a pilot with 56 IAF officers and provided them with training and placement letters.
Further, he added that the ministry will work to deliver entrepreneurship, education and training at 2,200 colleges, 300 schools, 500 government ITIs and 50 vocational training centres.

Till date, 4,82,079 entrepreneur training sessions have been conducted by the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD).