VIJAYAWADA : The Department of Skills Development and Training, under the leadership of Principal Secretary (Department of Skills Development and Training) S Suresh Kumar, held a high-level meeting with National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) director general VG Narendra Kumar, and his team at NIRDPR Rajendranagar in Hyderabad on Monday.
Discussions centred around leveraging technology and innovative approaches to enhance the impact of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), a flagship skill development programme.
One of the key proposals was the creation of ‘Skill Experience Centres’ in a few places in the State.
These centres would provide career counselling, real-time exposure to vocational courses through interactive digital platforms, and aspiration-building activities. The aim is to substantially reduce dropout rates in DDU-GKY centres by making the experience more engaging and informative for prospective trainees.
Additionally, the meeting explored the possibility of setting up a Center of Excellence (CoE) in partnership with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Singapore. The Government of India has identified NIRDPR as the national agency for setting up CoE in the States. This Centre of Excellence would follow a ‘plug-and-play’ model, offering dual certification programmes and language-focused training to cater to country specific job requirements.
The hub-and-spoke model would enable the establishment of standalone CoEs, as well as integration with existing SEEDAP (Society for Employment Generation and Enterprise Development in Andhra Pradesh) centres.