Chandigarh, May 22 (IANS) Haryana is focusing on futuristic skill development and technology-based vocational education, with the government planning major initiatives in artificial intelligence (AI), green technologies, digital skilling and industry-linked training systems.

At a meeting of the Skill Development and Industrial Training (SDIT) Department, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi on Friday reviewed reforms aimed at preparing the youth for future employment opportunities and strengthening Haryana’s skilled workforce in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’.

The review focused on the modernisation of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), introduction of AI and emerging technology courses, improvement in monitoring of training programmes and development of an industry-oriented skill ecosystem.

The state is also working on up-skilling government workforce personnel and expanding courses in areas such as AI, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing to meet future industry requirements.

In a significant achievement, over 7,000 contractual employees deployed through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRNL) across various departments, boards and corporations have already been up-skilled in soft skills and IT literacy by Haryana Skill Development Mission through Haryana Knowledge Corporation Ltd.

Another batch of employees is expected to be covered during this fiscal year.

The government is also preparing a strategy to up-skill Group C and Group D employees to enhance workplace efficiency and digital readiness across departments. In this regard, the Chief Secretary directed officials to conduct skill training of drivers and peons in the coming weeks at the headquarters as well as the district level.

To prepare for emerging employment trends, the state has commissioned a comprehensive skill gap study focusing on futuristic technologies and emerging industrial requirements. The work order has been placed with Swarna Jayanti Haryana Institute of Fiscal Management on April 20, and the report is expected by the first week of July, an official statement said.

Officials said the study will help align Haryana’s training ecosystem with future industry demands. Principal Secretary (Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship) Rajeev Ranjan said under the PM-SETU initiative, Haryana has identified four pilot ITI clusters — Sonipat, Kurukshetra, Palwal and Chhara (Jhajjar) — for industry-led transformation of vocational institutions.

The state has set a target to cover all 12 clusters allocated by the Directorate General of Training within the next three years. The proposal has already received in-principle approval from Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

Officials informed that an industry workshop linked to the initiative will be scheduled next month in Gurugram to accelerate collaboration between industries and vocational institutions.

–IANS

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