Oil PSUs members have come together to set up a Skill Development Institute in Visakhapatnam (SDI-Vskp). The Members, HPCL, IOCL, BPCL, ONGC, OIL, GAIL, EIL and Balmer Lawrie, have taken this initiative for skills development of unemployed youth under the Skill India programme.

K Nagesh, secretary, Skill Development Institute, Visakhapatnam and chief manager-HR, HPCL, Mumbai said, “Skill Development Institute, Visakhapatnam is committed to raise the bar in the process of imparting technical skills to unemployed youth including soft skills & digital literacy and make them ready for industrial assignments. Partnership with NSDC is a momentous step towards achieving our commitment to the Skill India Mission.”

SDI-Vishakhapatnam has entered into an MOU with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship to partner on various areas. Under this MoU, over 600 people from local areas will be provided training at subsidized cost on an annual basis. The centre will also be accredited through the single-window online system set up by NSDC, says the press release.

NSDC will be the knowledge partner in providing updated national and global benchmarks in successful implementation of the Project. It shall facilitate for training of trainers, affiliation with sector skill councils, approval of new QPs, third party assessments, and enable collaboration with national and international agencies.

Manish Kumar, CEO, NSDC said, “This partnership with SDI-Vishakhapatnam promoted by Oil PSUs is the first-of-its-kind for NSDC and with their rich expertise in the area of skill development, we can jointly contribute to achieving the nation’s skilling priorities. We look forward to a fruitful and long-term association and I wish the best for this endeavour.”

SDI-Vishakhapatnam will offer both short-term and long-term skill development programs aligned to the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). The SDI has started with about 340 students in 10 different trades affiliated to respective Sector Skill Council (SSC) through NSDC training partners. Being industry leaders, the Oil PSUs will design new Qualification Packs (QP) for skill development for their industry, and will establish Centres of Excellence within the premises of the institute for meeting higher level skill in one sector, conduct Training of Trainers and Training of Assessors to meet the quality requirement of that sector. To enhance employment linkages, the SDI will also conduct Rojgar Melas for SDI graduates as well as local areas for gainful employment.