Hyderabad: With an aim to providing skilled human resources for local as well as global industries, Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) is working on a plan to skill two crore people in the state in 10 years. In the next one year, the APSSDC aims to train 2 lakh people and by 2018-19, the Corporation will train 15-16 lakh. APSSDC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ganta Subbarao informed Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu that the Corporation is planning to have 6 clusters for skill development in Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Guntur, Nellore, Chittoor and Ananthapur.

“These clusters will cover all the 13 districts of the state,” Subbarao said, adding that each cluster will focus on 2 to 3 sectors to impart skills. Each cluster will have 6 colleges where students will be trained in various skills, based on their interest. These 36 colleges (6 in each cluster) will eventually become Centres of Excellence (with best infrastructure, facilities for quality education and extra-curricular activities) where they could either become autonomous, apply for a deemed university status, etc.

Stating that Andhra Pradesh Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy is the best in the country, Subbarao said that what makes AP’s policy unique is that skill training is imparted to people by assessing industry needs for workforce. It not only focuses on skill upgradation or training but also aims to create entrepreneurs who will be job creators. “While Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan have skill development training programmes, what they lack is the assessment of industry requirements,” he added.

This manpower assessment, the Chief Minister said, would benefit the global workforce. “We could hire an international consultant who can analyse the human resources requirement in various sectors globally. Based on that report, we can impart skills and get students placed outside India in industries in other countries,” he added.

The APSSDC has also proposed setting up a Skill Development University in 300-500 acres which will house Centres of Excellence, Manufacturing and R&D set up, entrepreneurship and incubation facilities, driver training institute, an integrated school and a consortium of industry bodies. The Chief Minister, replying to this proposal, suggested that the APSSDC or the Skill Development University could be linked to the six universities that will be set up in the state (Water, Marine, Energy, Sports, Logistics and Hospitality).