India’s First Community Skill Park At Chavara In Kerala

10 July, Thirivanathapuram

A state-of-the-art Kaushal Kendra, Indias first community skill park, will be launched at Chavara on the outskirts of Kollam District by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy tomorrow.

Kaushal Kendra, an exemplarily skill development centre that even the Centre has shown an interest in replicating through the country, was being set up at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore.

Kerala Minister for Labour and Skills Shibu Baby John said the project was implemented through the states nodal skill development agency, the Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE).

This is the first such centre in the country instituted specifically to meet the shortcomings of our educated youth and boost their employability at very nominal costs, noted Shibu Baby John. The first phase will include Kaushal Kendras in Kozhikode, Palakkad and Kannur this year. In the next year, we will follow it up in the rural areas of the other ten districts.

The Kendra works on four fronts: the Assessment and Career Guidance Cell helps rural youth to realize their career aptitude through the best global assessment tools and provides guidelines to choose the course that is best suited for them, taking into consideration their socio-economic and educational backgrounds. A high-end digital library, tied-up with the World e-Library, will ensure access to digitised, authenticated content from across the world.

In association with the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, the Kendras language lab will help youth obtain proficiency in English and other foreign languages. Another state-of-the-art facility is a multi-skill room with the video conference facility that acts as a skill training facility and virtual classroom, depending on industrial needs.

There will be round-the-year training in various fields with the support of training and industrial partners, with a view to placements