AP Aims to Generate 1 Lakh Blue-Collar Jobs Abroad Through OMCAP
Education Minister directs officials to train youth for global demand in nursing, construction, and technical trades
Vijayawada: Education minister Nara Lokesh has said the state government aims to arrange one lakh blue-collar job opportunities abroad through Overseas Manpower Company of Andhra Pradesh (OMCAP) in the next five years.
Chairing a review meeting with skill development corporation officials on Thursday, Lokesh asked them to prepare a roadmap and work in a planned manner to achieve the goal.
He cited a strong demand in Europe, Germany, Italy and GCC nations for nurses, welders, truck drivers and construction workers.
The minister stressed the need to train more ITI, polytechnic graduates and nursing students in foreign languages to help them secure overseas employment. He suggested studying Kerala’s model for nursing job placements and focusing skill training on job profiles that have high demand abroad.
Officials said currently 2,774 nursing trainees across the state were undergoing foreign language training under OMCAP. The state has signed MoUs with the German agency for international healthcare professionals (DeFa) and with TELC (the European language certification) to set up German language assessment centres in the state.
Lokesh reviewed the state’s skill portal, which integrates data from 23 sectors, and directed that workforce preparation must align with the needs of 4,639 large and medium industries operating in AP. He said the portal, to be launched next month, should provide complete job-related information to youths.
Emphasizing mission-mode development of 83 government ITIs, Lokesh directed officials to expedite proposals worth Rs 322 crore for infrastructure and modernization works. While admissions in ITIs have increased, officials cited the problem of staff shortage.
Lokesh called for placing AP at the top under PM Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana and PM Internship schemes and sought improvements in curriculum, testing, certification and placements.
Discussions were also held on the scope of upgrading ITIs under the PM Setu scheme. Officials said 646 teaching and 2,183 non-teaching posts remained vacant in 87 polytechnic colleges.
The minister ordered a study of successful models from other states and called for preparation of plans to develop ITIs under a hub-and-spoke model, with hubs in Visakhapatnam, Anantapur and Chittoor linked to 13 spokes.
He announced that ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel’s subsidiary NAMTECH (New Age Makers’ Institute of Technology) would establish a skill training centre in AP.
The meeting was attended by HR secretary Kona Sashidhar, skill development corporation CEO Ganesh Kumar and other officials.
