Gadkari sets target of 5 lakh jobs in 5 yrs in Vidarbha before industry body

Nagpur: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday set the target of creating five lakh jobs in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in the next five years before a local industry body.

He said although the target was challenging, it was achievable.

Gadkari was addressing a gathering at the launch of 'Nagpur Skill Centre', a skill development initiative of the Association for Industrial Development (AID) in collaboration with Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Tata STRIVE - a skill development Initiative of Tata Trusts, and Vidarbha Global Foundation.

"We have set the target of creating five lakh jobs in the next five years. Five thousand youths from every assembly constituency in Vidarbha will get skill training at the Nagpur Skill Centre," said Gadkari, who is the mentor of AID.

"Although the target of skill training and creating five lakh jobs in five years is huge, it is achievable," the Minister for Road Transport and Highways said.

He gave the examples of various projects that provided jobs on a large scale, including the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN), which he said generated one lakh employment opportunities.

Gadkari said that other than manufacturing and industrial sectors, tourism, hospitality, mining, handloom, handicrafts and agriculture have the potential to provide a huge number of jobs to the youth He suggested the Nagpur Skill Centre to start courses to provide training to people in rural areas so that they do not require to migrate to cities for jobs.

Meanwhile, Tata STRIVE Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ameya Vanjari said in a release that industry-linked training for jobs will be provided to the youth.

Tata STRIVE helps hundreds of youth find employment, and over 2.5 million students have benefitted from its programmes in the past 11 years. The Nagpur Skill Centre will be the 41st centre in India, he said.

"We have designed industry-specific short-term courses in manufacturing, electrical, solar, IT, and banking sectors each lasting two to three months. These will be followed by on-the-job training and placement opportunities. I urge Nagpur's youth to take full advantage of this opportunity," he said.

He further stated that the Nagpur Skill Centre launched by AID is a step towards creating future-ready skilled manpower and accelerating industrial growth in the region.