BENGALURU: Be it demand for farmers in Japan or nurses in the United Kingdom, the Karnataka Skill Development Corporation (KSDC) is looking to plug the gap for labour in other countries, while also working pro bono as an agency for those who want to move outside India for employment.
At present, the corporation is training 60 nurses in IELTS (english language testing system), who are expected to go to the UK where there is a requirement of 45,000 nurses. The training started after a collaboration between KSDC and International Skill Development Corporation was inked in the last week of October, and it is expected to last six months.
Highlighting the huge demand for labour abroad, KSDC manager Kavitha Gowda told The New Indian Express that the corporation has seen huge demands for farmers from Japan, nurses for the UK and domestic helps and drivers from Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
“To work in a hospital there (UK), you have to clear IELTS. Nursing colleges will not train students for IELTS, and training for it outside will be cost intensive. Hence, we are facilitating them,” she said. As for farmers, she said more details are being sought on the qualification required apart from the language proficiency. “We might reach out to agricultural universities where students are graduates, and will integrate in the last semester, free training for Japan,” she added.
Tom Mannapurathu Joseph, director, strategy and development, ISDC Global, told TNIE that the corporation is looking at training 1,000 nurses from Karnataka over the next two years. “Training them to qualify the exams (IELTS) will take between three and six months. There is a demand for 45,000 nurses in the UK and we are also working with Tamil Nadu to upskill 8,000 nurses,” he added.