The government is considering formulating a policy on apprenticeships: CM

SHIMLA-11^vol June 2024-Chairing a technical education review meeting today, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu emphasized on radical reforms to provide quality vocational education to students in the state. He said that there are a total of 364 technical and vocational education institutions in the state, including 184 private ones. He directed the department to develop a mechanism to regulate and monitor these private institutions to ensure quality education.

The Prime Minister also directed the department to explore the feasibility of integrating ITIs and polytechnics in one campus to streamline resources and improve efficiency. He directed the department to explore industry-oriented and job-employment courses for the new age to provide better internship opportunities to young people. He said a cell would be set up at the state level to monitor the demand for skills required in the industries and the available trained manpower.

He said candidates can apply for available employment opportunities online. He also ordered the Department to conduct a survey to assess students’ interest in specific fields of study. He said the state government would provide all possible assistance to the department in imparting quality education to students, besides filling up vacant posts on a rational basis. He said the department has trained 1,077 faculty members in various reputed institutions to keep themselves updated with the latest teaching methods and technologies in their fields. He said the state government was considering formulating an apprenticeship policy by offering students a one-year apprenticeship course in various government departments.

A detailed presentation was also given on this occasion. The meeting also featured the Minister of Technical Education, Rajesh Dharmani, who provided valuable suggestions for improving the standards of technical education.

Secretary to Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, Technical Secretary
Priyatu Mandal and other senior officials of the education department participated in the meeting.