BENGALURU: FOR several years now, lack of adequate skills among students coming out of schools and colleges has been a concern. Even today, a large percentage of candidates who complete different courses are not ‘industry-ready’.
Though several institutions exist in places such as Bengaluru and Mysuru to serve as finishing schools, their numbers are relatively less in the impoverished northern part of Karnataka.
In order to bridge that gap, the Deshpande Foundation is coming up with the largest skill development centre in Hubballi.
Speaking to Express, Naveen Jha, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, revealed the scope and objective of the centre. “One reason why Hubballi was chosen is because such training facilities are not available in that part of the state.
The centre will concentrate on students from small towns and rural areas, and train them in various sectors,” he said.
Works on the skill development centre, which began in May last year, will be completed by the end of March.
The centre will start its residential programme in the first week of April, he said.
The centre has three lakh square feet floor area in a seven-acre campus. It has been constructed at a cost of $10 million, and can train upto 5,000 people in a year.