Bengaluru – As Indian industries continue to evolve; it has become necessary for the workforce today to upskill themselves in order to improve their technical knowledge. Bosch Limited has come forward to support the development of such a workforce through the creation of a new ‘Skill Development Center’ at the Government Industrial Training Institute (I.T.I.) at Dairy Circle in Bengaluru. The center, named Model-Block 1, was inaugurated by Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Additional Secretary, Director General of Training (DGT), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India, and Mr. Soumitra Bhattacharya, Managing Director, Bosch Limited and President, Bosch Group India. It forms a part of India’s larger skill development agenda and will upskill both current and future I.T.I. students with industry-relevant skills.
Bosch’s model Skill Development Center houses seven learning facilities within it, including a Mechatronics Lab, a Modern Manufacturing Lab, a Modern Carpentry Lab and an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Lab. Further, two other labs have been developed in partnership with Samsung, namely the Hand-held Phone and Audio-Visual Lab and Home Appliances Lab.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr, Rajesh Aggarwal said, “I am very happy to see the transformations that are happening in I.T.Is across India. An important aspect for these institutes is to have an industry connect and it is evident here in this I.T.I. I am confident that with further investments from the state and central government, we will see more of such development centers in the coming future.”
“The evolving landscape of the industry in India has created the need for a workforce that is capable of adapting to not only current but also future trends. The purpose of this I.T.I is to address this need on an ongoing basis. Public-private partnerships such as Bosch’s Skill Development Center are the best way to ensure the success of this endeavour and we are proud to be able to aid the Government in the training of the country’s future workforce,” said Mr. Bhattacharya, Managing Director, Bosch Ltd.
The Skill Development Center is the latest addition to Bosch’s skilling endeavours that look to support the industry by improving the workforce. The dignitaries also met a few trainees of this program after the inauguration ceremony. Ensuring the employability of unprivileged school dropout youth is an important thrust area for Bosch Limited. Among company’s other major initiatives, BRIDGE program aims to make underprivileged youth more employable through short-term training courses.
Bosch’s partnership with the Government of India is part of a larger initiative launched by the government to upgrade a total of 1396 I.T.I.s through public-private partnerships (PPP). The Government of Karnataka has also identified 28 I.T.I.s in the state and allotted Rs 10 crore to each of them to be developed as “Model I.T.I.s”.
