Lucknow, July 22 (KNN) In a strategic meeting between Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) Mahendra Nath Pandey and Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh here, a joint decision was made to set-up two Skill Centre of Excellences (CoEs).

One of the CoEs to be set up in Greater Noida for Plumbing and one in Varanasi for the Services Sector, said an official release.

The two centres will be international state-of-the-art infrastructure which will be created under joint collaboration between the State and the Centre, where the State will provide the land for setting up the two buildings.

The infrastructure and training delivery will be supported by the respective Sector Skill Councils and the industry partners to make it relevant to market demand and trends.

Further, to push on creating world class infrastructure for skill development in the State, it was jointly decided that the India Institute of Skills (IIS) in Kanpur, will soon be operational, according to the MSDE release.

The Centre was conceptualized by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi himself during his visit to Singapore's Institute of Technical Education and its foundation was also laid by him.

The institute will be opened in partnership with the Institute of Technical Education, Singapore and will have around 10-12 labs and will not only focus on hard skills from manufacturing sector but also on skills related to service sector.

Reassuring support from the Centre to the State, Pandey said, “MSDE will work closely with Government of Uttar Pradesh to ensure world class infrastructure for skilling and will ensure the up-skilling and re-skilling of its youth under our programs making them market relevant.”

Commenting on the partnership, Yogi Adityanath said, “We have been focusing on our clusters in UP for skill development through our One District One Product scheme (ODOP). Our focus is also towards our farmer community and we will work together with the Central government to up-skill them to today’s time and age enhancing their productivity, leading to better livelihood.”

The meeting also had detailed discussions around re-energizing the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) ecosystem in the State and focus on its up-gradation and modernization.

The Centre has promised to work closely with State and has assured that the proposal will be examined, and appropriate steps will be taken to address the community challenge with regard to skill and enhance their overall productivity.

The Centre and State are also working closely with each other to ensure convergence of all skill development schemes so that there is one common framework for all.