Kerala - Kochi   

Training centres for unskilled youth

KOCHI: Confederation of NGOs of Rural India (CNRI), the apex body of NGOs of rural India, a union government initiative, in association with Hindustan Computer Limited (HCL), will open 100 ‘centres for development of employable skills’ in Kerala. The scheme is part of a programme for opening 1,000 centres across the country.

CNRI national executive chairman N.Balagopal told The Hindu that the centres in Kerala would start functioning in the second week of January. The centres are primarily intended to provide training to the rural youth in various disciplines so as to bring them on par with their urban counterparts. Youth in the rural sector often fail to take advantage of economic opportunities presented by the modern world due to lack of communication skills, exposure to English language and IT skills. The centres would provide training to help develop such skills among the youth, he said.

Those who have completed Plus Two would be ideal candidates for the course, but the criterion on educational qualifications could be relaxed. Even those who have completed VIIIth standard or even school dropouts could be considered for various vocational skill development programmes spanning carpentry, plumbing and masonry.

According to an analysis made by CNRI, only five per cent of the Indian labour force in the age group of 20-24 in India have obtained vocational skills through formal means while it is 60-96 per cent in the industrialised countries. Only 2.5 million enter the labour market every year. The short-term training programme will cover two hours a day during a three-month period. The training would include basic accounting process, basics of computer hardware, networking, business applications and sales orientation. HCL Infosystems will provide state-of-the-art computer infrastructure including desktop and printer. The students can learn fundamental architecture of the personal computer, concept of software and hardware and basics of operating systems. Certificates will be awarded to the successful participants.

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