New Delhi, May 29 (KNN) Keeping in view the need of industries to hire skilled workforce in specialized areas, the Directorate General of Training (DGT), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has announced the launch of five high end diploma courses in the skill ecosystem for the academic year 2017.

The five courses in Welding Technology, Industrial Electronics and Automation, Manufacturing Technology, Automotive Technology and IT, Networking and Cloud Computing were cleared today at the Sub-Committee meeting of NCVT.

“The need for advance level courses/ specialized courses has been long felt in the vocational training landscape in the country,” MSDE said in a statement.

The courses are of two years duration and will be introduced from August/September 2017 at Advanced Training Institutes (ATIs).

These courses would enable trainees to acquire cutting edge training by providing an opportunity to sharpen their “hands-on skills” in specialized areas such as computerized pneumatic control (CNC) machining, automotive technology, welding, mechatronics, industrial electronics and automation.

This would also extend the skill pyramid beyond current vocational training set up. Over and above this, one fourth of the training period is dedicated for on-the-job training in the form of an industrial attachment.

Commenting on the development, Minister of State (I/C) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy has said, “Inclusion of five high end diploma courses in the skill ecosystem is our reaction to the great demand created by the industry, which says we do not have the workforce of what is required. Industries are demanding skilled workforce in specialized areas. With this development, Advanced Training Institutes will narrow the gap between demand and supply in the industry. These steps will take us close to our vision of making India the skill capital of the world.”

The meeting was attended by a host of government officials from MSDE, Ministry of Textiles, and state government representatives from Haryana, Tripura, Chandigarh (UT), Bihar and Rajasthan.