The Punjab Government on Friday took a stride to ensure employment to vocationally-equipped youngsters of the State by inking a pact with the National Skill Development Corporation. The State education department and the NSDC signed an MoU for National Skill Qualification Framework in the presence of Education Minister Daljeet Singh Cheema at MGSIPA.
The Minister said that collaboration with NSDC would create new opportunities for youth of State by improving employability of students pass out of these courses because of vocational education, industrial training inputs and exposures.
Cheema said this programme would provide guaranteed employment to the senior secondary pass-outs of Vocational School. “From August, Punjab is going to initiate exclusive vocational education program for which 100 schools have been identified,” he added.
He said special Vocational Education would be imparted to students from class IX to XII for 2014-15 session. “In collaboration with Human Resources Development Ministry, this programme would be implemented in the State in a phased manner. This programme has been prepared by top experts of IITs and IIMs in view of present needs and requirements of various industries,” said Cheema.
The Minister said that the syllabus of vocational education had also been finalised after detailed conversations and consultations with top industrial houses of country as per international and national curriculum. “NSDC will also set teacher recruitment guidelines to ensure ‘best fit’ candidate with high quality to make a project big success,” he added.
Cheema said that each school would have got two trades and preliminary the State is going to introduce six trades — healthcare, IT, retail, automobile, security and beauty and wellness. “As many as 5,000 students will be admitted in first phase, who will get vocational education for four years and after passing their senior secondary, they will be able to get jobs in their respective trade or profession on the basis of certificate issued by concerned authorities,” he added. Indian Industries would also be bound to provide jobs to those pass outs as per the pact inked between Punjab Government and NSDC, he added.
Education Minister said that this programme will be implemented in all schools of the state in phased manner in coming years with the inclusion of at least 100 trades in the ambit of the programme.