Bihar Govt To Upgrade 69 ITIs As Centres Of Excellence; Focus On Modern Trades

The new Bihar government is setting priorities to provide the state's youth with skill development training, along with employment and self-employment opportunities. For that, work on the development of 69 ITIs as Centres of Excellence has been completed, where the skill development training for young people will begin from next month.

The Labour Resources Department has instructed nodal officers to prepare an action plan for this purpose. It is expected that young people trained through the Centres of Excellence shall get direct employment in industries, strengthening Bihar's skill development sector. The government intends to establish this facility in all ITIs soon, so that young people from both rural and urban areas can benefit equally.

A Labour Resources Department official said that the goal of skill development for the youth of the state is to make them employable, create avenues of self-employment, and prepare them for the future work environment. The schemes are also aimed at fostering entrepreneurship among the young, imparting new skills, and developing adaptability to technological change.

The main objectives include:

•  Increasing employability: Helping youth to get jobs by providing them with industry relevant skills. To facilitate this, a model framework for Mega Skill Development Centres shall be prepared at the district level.
• Self-employment generation: Imparting young people with the required skills and motivation to initiate business. Under this, arrangements will be made for providing training to the young people at the block level.
• Empowerment of rural areas: The Bihar Skill Development Mission, in collaboration with various departments, will primarily focus on increasing the income of village artisans and youth by imparting new skills and techniques.
• *Bringing young people and new technology together: In the Centres of Excellence, the focus will be on bringing youth and new technology together and delivering job-related and entrepreneurial training.