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ARMED OVER 8,000 YOUTHS WITH EMPLOYABLE SKILLS.
It is said that when will meets way, miracles happen. This miraculous phase in life arrives for all of us, most profoundly in the early years of our adulthood, when we are trying to find our feet and settle down into a career of our choice. Yet, for some, tough economic circumstances can flick the trajectory of budding aspirations. We extend a friendly hand, presenting a pathway to a brighter future by building competencies for careers through infusion of placement-oriented vocational skills to benefit underprivileged youth, women, and people with special needs.
Synching in tune with our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s ‘Skill India Campaign’, BPCL alongwith other oil companies has promoted a Skill Development Institute (SDI) at Kochi to provide vocational training to youth and enhance their employability / entrepreneurship for the deserving youth both in Oil & Gas Industry and other Industries.
This state of art campus with all latest gadgets and equipments provides the right ambience for skilling 180 youths at a time on a fully residential mode for 1248 training hours spread across six months. Industrial Electrician, Welding, Fitter Fabrication, Process instrumentation are some of the courses conducted at SDI, Kochi.
All courses are fully residential and of duration 6 months. The total intake per batch is 180 students (45* 4 trades). Institute can skill 360 students every year. An admission fee of Rs 5000/- is charged and uniform, training bag, study material, safety shoes and all three meals are provided. Students are also provided with soft skill enhancement classes including computer classes, communication classes, etc. Services of a part-time counselor provide counseling sessions for students to address any personal /academic problems. M/s Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF), Bangalore is the training partner. The courses are aligned to the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) of the central government with affiliation to respective sector skill councils and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). The Certificate are issued at the end of the course after external evaluation and certification by Sector Skill Council / National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
SDI Kochi has so far trained and certified 755 students in 6 batches, since its inception in Dec 2016. The admission for the 7th Batch is in Progress. SDI Kochi has excellent placement track record having placed 95% of certified students in leading companies in India and abroad.
Shivkumar, 21, completed his ITI course as an electrician last year. He was employed temporarily at a small workshop in his village, and was soon thereafter looking for a suitable job. Beyond that, he wanted to do something more with his life. He aspired to be an industrial electrical supervisor one day. However, to achieve this goal, he realised that he needed to upgrade his skills and then gain industry-level experience. India is a “young” nation with many Shivkumars. A large proportion of the nation’s population is in the working-age group. To capitalise on this demographic dividend, it is imperative to develop the immense potential of the youth, as envisaged by the Government’s National Skill Development Mission. Enabling youngsters with refined, industry-specific technical vocational skills has a cascading multiplier effect. This is a highly effective way of providing them better prospects of employability and an upgrade path to a better future, while also ensuring availability of high-quality workforce for the oil and gas industry.
Yet another impactful project supported by BPCL is “Vivekananda-BPCL Skill Development Center”, which is rated as a Platinum Green Building which is the highest certification level. Indian Green Building Council (IGBC recognizes the Vivekananda-BPCL Skill Development Center as "Global Leadership" for a new Green School Building. The Center will house 3 model curriculum-specific workshops / Training hall for Automobile, mechanical & Computer courses in each floor and one Human Competitive Skill Development Center, which will be powered a 65 KW Solar plant with dual axis tracking, meeting 80% of the building’s electricity need. A special feature of this green building building is that it was constructed around two trees that are 3 decade old, avoiding the damage to trees. The construction of the project was finished in a span of 18 months. It will provide diploma education to approximately 400 students every year.
“I feel like I have been given a new life,” says Raghu, a trainee at The Vocational Training centre supported by BPCL in Nashik. Last year, he saw no hope. Today he is receiving professional training to become an electrician. “Back then, I did not even know that leprosy was curable. And now I am inspiring others to walk the path of recovery and dignity,” he says emphatically.
Not only curable, leprosy leaves no post-cure physical disability if treated early.
Committed to projects of deep social relevance, Bharat Petroleum supports placement-linked Vocational Training for assimilating leprosy-affected youth in the mainstream of the society. With a variety of technical and non-formal courses offered at these VTCs, aspirants can choose to obtain qualification in trades such as motor mechanic, diesel mechanic, welder, computer operator and programming assistant, stenographer, electrician, carpenter, tailor, printing, etc. BPCL has trained 792 leprosy affected students under this initiative.
On similar lines, BPCL has projects in Latur, Maharashtra, for training 75 visually impaired youth in acupressure and massage therapy, to make them self-sufficient.
No wonder, equipped with the skills of their choice and a newfound confidence, Raghu and his batch mates as well as their Latur counterparts are eagerly waiting to claim their deserved place in the society.