ADB approves USD 109.97 mn loan to boost employability in Gujarat

New Delhi: Multilateral funding agency ADB on Friday said it has approved a USD 109.97 million (about Rs 927 crore) results-based loan to support Gujarat in advancing its vision of becoming a global industrial hub through a stronger, future-ready workforce.

The Gujarat Skills Development Programme, led by the state's Labour, Skill Development, and Employment Department in collaboration with Kaushalya: The Skill University (KSU), aims to equip the state's workforce with industry-aligned, advanced skills that boost job readiness in high-growth sectors, according to an ADB statement.

The programme will strengthen the institutional and managerial capacity of the KSU network and broaden access to high-quality, industry-relevant training courses that integrate frontier technologies, it said.

Through this process, the programme aims to transform the governance and performance of the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system in Gujarat, establishing a scalable model that can be replicated across other states in India, it said.

Focusing on seven high-priority industries — logistics, automotive, manufacturing, information technology, renewable energy, healthcare, and agri-tech — the programme will implement a range of interventions, it said.

These include upgrading 11 mega industrial training institutes (ITIs), establishing centres of excellence, and partnering with affiliated private training providers through a hub-and-spoke model anchored by KSU, it said.

Courses will be designed in close collaboration with the industry to ensure alignment with market demands and job trends, it added.