AISECT, which is India’s leading Social Enterprise working in the area of skill development, has deployed 162 vocational trainers and 4 vocational coordinators across schools in 30 districts of Karnataka under the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). The skills training under this project will be conducted for Automobile as well as Beauty & Wellness sectors. Of the 162 trainers, 107 have been deployed for training in Automobile sector and 55 for training in Beauty & Wellness sector.

NSQF is a competency-based framework that organizes all qualifications according to a series of levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude. These levels, graded from one to ten, are defined in terms of learning outcomes which the learner must possess regardless of whether they are obtained through formal, non-formal or informal learning. It is anchored at the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) and is being implemented through the National Skills Qualifications Committee (NSQC).

Talking about the project, Mr. Siddharth Chaturvedi, Executive Vice President, AISECT Group, said, “Under this project, the hands-on experience and expertise of the trainers will provide a boost to our efforts of imparting effective skills training to school students and equipping them with market skills in order to make them industry ready. NSQF is a step in the right direction by the Government in reaching the youth of the country. By executing the project in Karnataka, we not only hope to play an important role in formally developing a skilled workforce but also expand our capacity building network in the State and develop a sustainable skilling framework.”

The training will be provided to students for the Automotive Service Technician and Assistant Beauty Assistant job roles. It will be carried out during the entire academic year 2019-20 and 2020-21, in sync with the ongoing school education without accruing any extra costs for the students. To be eligible for the training, the students must possess a minimum qualification of 8^th pass for both the job roles. On completion of the training, the students will be assessed and certified by the respective Sector Skill Councils.

The districts in which the trainers have been deployed include Bagalkot, Bangalore North, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore South, Belgaum, Bijapur, Chikkamangalore, Dharwad, Gulbarga, Koppal, Mysore, Udupi, Yadgir, Raichur and Belagavi among others.

While this is the first time AISECT is implementing the project in Karnataka, so far it has deployed 1,348 trainers across other Indian states who have trained over 50,000 students in various sectors and job roles. The trainers are responsible for imparting skills training to the students, while the coordinators are responsible for monitoring the vocational training operations.

Launched in 1985, AISECT works in semi-urban and rural parts of the country to empower people through Skill Development, Higher Education, Financial Inclusion, e-Governance and other ICT-based services avenue. It is spearheading numerous skill development initiatives of the Central and State Governments like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, National Skills Qualification Framework, National Urban Livelihood Mission, State Skill Development Missions, etc. Till date, the organization has successfully trained over 20 lakh people in the small town, district, block and panchayat level areas across India.