PM Narendra Modi’s Skill India initiative gets a major boost from Indian Railways! Ministry of Railways, in a bid to boost the Skill India initiative is aiming to train 30,000 apprentices in its 16 zonal units and 7 production units. In order to contribute to Skill India initiative in the past, apprentices across various sections were trained in categories like welder, painter, fitter, turner, machinist, carpenter, electrician, refrigerator and AC mechanic, motor vehicle and diesel mechanic among many others, by Indian Railways.
Around 26,000 training slots for apprenticeship training have been announced for the year 2017-18. In addition to this, 4000 individuals across various establishments are already undergoing undergoing training. Earlier this week, an employment circular has been issued for recruitment of 62,907 staff in Level 1 pay scale and out of these, preference will be given to apprentices trained in Railway establishments to the tune of over 12,000 vacancies which is in line with the recent amendments made in the Apprentices Act of 1961.
Indian Railways claims that it has been in the forefront of implementation of the Apprentices Act, 1961 as it has a large set of workshops and production units. “Every year, a large number of apprentices were turned out from these workshops and production units and were certified and granted the NCVT (National Council for Vocational Training) Certificate, which helped them to secure employment in industry and in Railways,” a release by the Ministry of Railways says.
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“As a part of development of Human Resources, Railway acknowledges the fact that skill development of the labor force is very important. Skill development is also necessary for the industrial development of the nation. To make the labour force more accomplished, skill training yielded through formal institutions alone is not enough and it should be amplified by training in the actual work place,” the release further adds.
The apprentices training includes basic training and on-the-job training or practical training at workplace. Basic training, which counts for 20-30% of overall duration of apprenticeship training is also provided to those who have not undergone any institutional training before taking up on-the-job training or practical training. The on-the-job training or practical training is performed and commenced in the establishment itself.
