Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani while presiding over a workshop on 'National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme' here today said that youth are the invaluable asset of the society and the state government is preparing trained labour force by providing training to the youth. The government aims to develop Himachal as a skill hub.

He said that the state government is focusing on skill development and entrepreneurship. Youth are being made aware about the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme. The objective of the scheme is to promote apprenticeship training by providing stipend to the trainees. Director Technical Education is the State Apprenticeship Advisor for monitoring and implementation of the State Apprenticeship Scheme. The state government has appointed 78 Assistant Apprenticeship Advisors to create awareness about the scheme in the state. At the district level also, a District Level Apprenticeship Committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner in the respective districts. The government has provided Rs 1 crore per cluster to six industry clusters BBNIA Baddi, District Small Industries Association Bilaspur, Himachal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Parwanoo Industry Association, Solan Industry Association and Haroli Block Industry Association for providing training to unskilled labour force in the state. An apprenticeship monitoring cell has been constituted at the state level in the state. This cell regularly organises workshops and seminars for trainees.
The Technical Education Minister said that a total of 2569 institutes are registered under the scheme in the state and 27,615 trainees have registered. He said that institutes and trainees can register on the website. The state government is providing better placement opportunities for the youth and the required skills and labour force for the industries are being prepared.
Director Technical Education Akshay Sood conducted the workshop.
Secretary Technical Education Priyatu Mandal, Special Secretary Technical Education Sunil Sharma and senior officials of various departments participated in the workshop.