BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas on Saturday requested global companies participating in the three-day conclave on refining and petrochemicals here to offer their expertise in skill development to technical institutes of the State.
Chairing a separate meeting on skill development initiative in hydrocarbon sector on the sidelines of the conclave, Pradhan said the State offers an excellent ecosystem to develop it as a skill and knowledge hub.
The objective of the meet was to give an opportunity to institutes imparting skill training in the State to interact with chief executives of some international companies, exchange views and explore possibility of partnership in skill development initiatives.
Pradhan said skill development has been accorded top priority in the hydrocarbon sector, in line with the National Skill Development Mission of the Government of India. As the hydrocarbon sector in India is evolving rapidly over the years, the sector has the potential to generate maximum employment.
The Petroleum, Chemicals, Petrochemicals, Investment Region (PCPIR) being developed at Paradip will require manpower with varied skill sets for hydrocarbon as well as for allied sectors, he added.
Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu, who was part of the deliberations, said there exists tremendous potential in Odisha for developing knowledge and skill-based industries with support from Japanese business sector.
Representatives from skill development institutes from Odisha like IIT, Skill Development Institute, CIPET, CV Raman Engineering College, Shikasha ‘O’ Anusandhan, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology and Kalinga Institute of Social Science, Central Tool Room, Centurion University, and Sri Sri University participated in the interaction.
Executive officers of Hitachi Zosen India Ovt. Ltd, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries India, Toyo Engineering India, and delegates of prestigious oil and gas companies of the world like Dupont, ExxonMobil, Haldor Topsoe and UOP also took part in the deliberation.