Govt. Of Jharkhand, TISS sign an MOU To Make College Students Employable

Mumbai: The Government of Jharkhand signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), for implementation of the Employability Excellence with College Education and Learning (EXCEL) Programme in all the Government Colleges in the state of Jharkhand, today on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day, in presence of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri Raghubar Das and Secretary of Department of Higher and Technical Education & Skill Development, Shri Ajay Kumar Singh.
EXCEL Programme aims at enhancing the employability of students in all 5 Universities in Jharkhand and their affiliated colleges, wherein students will be skilled in Management and Soft Skills and various Domains; in addition to their Graduate Degree, through an engaging and practical training methodology that imparts competencies required to work successfully in an interdependent world. The programme will also help students who have completed their 12th standard or graduation by giving them an integrated Programme in Soft Skills and a Domain to make them employable in that Domain. “We aim to transform Jharkhand State into a Knowledge Hub wherein every graduate has requisite skills to find a meaningful employment” the Hon’ble Chief Minister said.
The Government of Jharkhand is among the first few states to initiate massive vocationalisation of higher education. Addressing the gathering, Secretary, DoHTE&SD, Shri Ajay Kumar Singh said “Although this programme has been piloted in the states of Kerala and Himachal Pradesh in the past, Jharkhand is the first state to implement the programme in such a massive scale”. Shri Ravi Ranjan, Mission Director, and Shri Amar Nath Jha, CEO, Jharkhand Skill Development Mission Society were among the other dignitaries on the occasion.
The EXCEL programme was modeled on the National University Students’ Skill Development Programme (NUSSD), a flagship programme initiated by TISS in 2013. The programme was successfully piloted in 9 states in India and is currently in the second phase where it is being implemented in 120 colleges in 4 states in India. In 2015, the United Nations (UN) Steering Committee on Children and Youth recognized the NUSSD programme as a “Skill Development Best Practice” in the country
The EXCEL programme aims to train 50,000 youth in the state of Jharkhand over a period of 4 years. TISS, a key knowledge and implementation partner will conduct a skill gap study to identify the training area, bring in course content and curriculum aligned to the National Occupational Standards of the relevant sector skill councils, implement the training delivery and organize to conduct assessment and certification of trainees. TISS will also strengthen the skill development ecosystem in the state by developing quality trainers for various sectors and connect with local industry to facilitate on-the-job training/ internship and placement of students.
“We have a special place for the people of Jharkhand in our heart. We will ensure that quality training is delivered and that participating trainees are linked to meaningful jobs so that they contribute to various sectors of economy within the state and other places in the country and thus realize the demographic dividend” Shri Tanmay Nayak, Director, NUSSD, TISS, said. Smt. Gayathri Arvind, Chief Operating Officer, Shri, Avinash Anand, Programme Manager and Shri. Pradeep Gupta, Programme Manager, NUSSD, TISS were also present.