Efforts on for skill city: Patowary

'MoUs signed with Taiwan on floriculture, with Songapore on tourism and hospitality industry'

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Sept 6: The Assam Legislative Assembly has had a very important discussion on raising a skilled and marketable workforce in the State.

Drawing the attention of State Skill Development Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on the floor of the House on Wednesday, AGP MLA Pradip Hazarika said: “Only 2.3 per cent of the workforce that India has under its disposal is skilled. We badly need a skilled workforce. Skill development training of the workforce is a must so as to make our manpower marketable. The courses being taught in the ITIs in Assam are outdated. They can’t make our youths marketable. This is one of the reasons why public sector undertakings like ONGC and Oil India are reluctant to absorb the passed-outs from the State ITIs.”

Speaking on the issue, Patowary said: “Skill development is a new concept in India. It was the NDA Government led by Prime Minister rendra Modi that laid stress on this issue in 2014 for the first time after independence. We’ve taken the issue with the requisite earnestness and made a separate department for skill development in the State Government. We’ve decided to set up a skill development centre in each and every block in the State. We’re going to lay stress on hatchery, floriculture etc. An MoU has already been signed with Taiwan that has made considerable development in floriculture. We’ve also signed an MoU with Singapore on Tourism and Hospitality Industry. Singapore Exterl Affairs Minister is coming to the State on November 1 this year. They want us to set up a skill city. If set up as planned, it’ll be the first skill city in Eastern India. We’re thinking of ming the city as ‘North East Skill City’. Singapore is going to extend help in providing skill development training. This is a long-term measure. As a short-term measure, we’ve decided to hone the skill of 1.50 lakh youths in the State this year.”