Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan lays foundation stone for NSTI Plus

 Bhubaneswar: Union minister education, skill development and entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday laid the foundation stone for National Skill Training Institutes (NSTI) Plus to elevate the capabilities of Odisha youths.

The institute will help scale up demand-driven and high-quality skill training and vocational education at regional level.

 NSTI Plus, which functions under the Directorate General of Training (DGT) of the Union ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE), will train 500 instructors in Phase-1 under the Craftsmen Instructor Training Scheme (CITS) and will further incorporate another 500 instructors for upskilling and re-skilling.

Speaking on the occasion, minister Mr Pradhan said “NSTI will emerge as a modern gurukul to equip candidates as well as trainers with industry and future-ready skills. I am confident that the upcoming state-of-the-art integrated campus of NSTI will empower the youth of New India by providing them with cutting-edge skills and knowledge required to excel in the 21st century, encourage entrepreneurship, equip master trainers with expertise aligned with current and future industry demands and help realize the vision of Viksit Bharat”.

Currently, there are 524 ITIs in the region with seating capacity of 1,04,134, and institutions with flexible learning models like NSTI Plus will advance the vocational training framework to be more accessible, inclusive and innovative in its embodiment.

NSTIs, according to the minister, will also take on the role of capacity-building centers for educators in schools. The selection of courses and training programs will be meticulously designed in association with industries to meet the needs of the local community.

“To fuel further growth, collaborative efforts will be made to develop an integrated 4.0 campus for entrepreneurs with modern new-age skills,” the minister added.