Underscoring the Prime Minister's vision of making India the Skill Capital of the World, the country's first Skill India International Centre is being set up at Skill Development Institute (SDI), Bhubaneshwar in collaboration with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). The announcement was made in a glittering ceremony held at SDI, Bhubaneswar on April 16, 2022, in the august presence of Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; Mr Subroto Bagchi, Chairman, Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA); Mr Vedmani Tiwari, Officiating CEO, NSDC; Mr Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary, Skill Development in Government of Odisha; Mr Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, Chairman, SDI, Bhubaneswar & Director (HR), IndianOil and other dignitaries.
Under this collaboration, Skill India International Centre is being set up for high-quality training of Indian youth, especially the aspirants from Odisha aiming to work overseas. The centre will provide skills training as per the demand of international employers in countries like UAE, Canada, Australia and other GCC regions.
Delivering his address on the occasion, Mr Pradhan said, "There are approximately 25 crore youngsters in India and 75 lakh in Odisha between the age group of 15-25 years. We have to leave no one behind and ensure skills', knowledge & employability linkages for all to achieve the fast-paced development of Odisha and India. SDI, Bhubaneswar should endeavour to create more opportunities for skilling with a focus on quality". Complimenting IndianOil's endeavours in steering SDI-B forward, Mr Pradhan added, "SDI-B is a beautiful example of the collective efforts of the Centre and State Governments in promoting skill development and making Odisha and eastern India a skill hub".While speaking on occasion, Director (HR) remarked that "MoU between SDI, Bhubaneswar and NSDC will surely propel this centre towards a new dawn. This mega-model multiskilling institute is now ready to fly and explore new horizons of skilling excellence, and our partnership with NSDC will further strengthen the Institute's skilling forays". Mr Mohapatra also emphasised that Skill India International Centre at SDI-B would not only facilitate training, recruitment, and immigration services seamlessly but also offer ToT (Training of Trainers)/ FDP (Faculty Development programs), upskilling and corporate programmes, master trainer certifications etc.
As part of the event, an MoU was exchanged between Mr Ved Mani Tiwari, Officiating CEO, NSDC and Mr Sanjay Srivastava, CEO, SDI, Bhubaneswar and two more state-of-art facilities were announced to be set up at SDI, Bhubaneswar, i.e. National Academy for WorldSkills Competitions and National Academy for Skill Teachers and Assessors.
The National Academy for WorldSkills Competitions will draw global occupational standards, training and assessment norms, infrastructure requirements, etc., from WorldSkills International to embed excellence in the skill training ecosystem in India. The National Academy for Skill Teachers will be established that will deliver skilling of teachers and assessors in alignment with the emerging needs of the industry.
