Western Railway takes a leap in advancement of Skill India Mission through Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojna

In pursuance to the Prime Minister's vision for Skill India Mission, Ashwini Vaishnaw - Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology launched the Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana over Indian Railways under the aegis of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana on 17th September, 2021. 75 Railway training institutes across the country have been shortlisted to provide training in various trades, to cover the youth from all over the country.

In this direction, WR's four Training Institute have been identified to provide entry level training to eligible candidates. The scheme will not only improve the employability of the youth but also upgrade the skills of self-employed and those who are working with contractors through re-skilling and up – skilling and contribute towards Skill India Mission.

According to a press release issued by Sumit Thakur – Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, "Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana" is designed to address aspirations of the youth and aptitude of candidates vis-a-vis the industry requirements. Over Western Railway, 04 Training Institutes have been identified under this scheme to impart training consists of Basic Training Centre - Lower Parel, Basic Training Centre – Dahod, Zonal Electrical Training Centre - Vadodara and Engineering workshop – Sabarmati. Basic Training Centre - Lower Parel and Basic Training Centre - Dahod are imparting training in all the 04 trades of Machinist, Fitter, Welder & Electrician.

Zonal Electrical Training Centre, Vadodara is imparting training in Electrical trade while Engineering Workshop - Sabarmati is imparting training in Welder trade. Training is provided free of cost and participants are selected from applications received online, following a transparent mechanism on the basis of marks in matriculation. Candidates who are 10th passed and between 18-35 years are eligible to apply. Accordingly, online applications were invited from the aspiring candidates by WR and on the basis of the applications received, two batches of 30 trainees in each trade have been formed. Total 148 candidates completed their training in the 1st batch, the duration of which was 100 hrs. The next batch will be commencing in the following week. Further, more trades are being identified by WR for imparting training under the Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana and based on this more training institutes will be added in the future.

Thakur further stated that the Indian Railways plans to provide training to 50000 candidates over a period of three years. Initially, the training is being provided to 1000 candidates. The training is provided in four trades of Electrician, Welder, Machinist and Fitter and comprises of initial basic training of 100 hours. Training programs in other trades will be added by Zonal Railways and Production Units based on regional demands and needs assessment.

The program curriculum has been developed by Banaras Locomotive Works, the nodal Production Unit for this scheme, which will also standardize assessments and maintain centralized database of participants. The scheme was initially launched for 1000 participants and will be over and above the training provided to apprentices under the Apprentice Act 1961. The Trainees shall be required to undergo a standardized assessment and will be awarded certificate in the allotted trade by the National Rail and Transportation Institute, upon conclusion of their programme. They will also be provided Toolkits relevant to their trade which would help these trainees utilize their learnings and enhance their capacity for self-employment as well as employability in various industries.