With an aim to shape more young talents from Jharkhand and make them industry ready, Tata Steel Foundation (TSF) signed a MoU with the state government to set-up Industrial Training Institute (ITI) at Chandil in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

The MoU was signed in Ranchi on Wednesday evening by Sourav Roy, chief, Corporate Social Responsibility, Tata Steel and Satyanand Bhokta, minister for labour, employment, training and skill development, Government of Jharkhand.

Talking about Tata Steel`s commitment to enable youth to be industry ready, Chanakya Chaudhary, vice-president, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, said: “TSF has been working towards creating avenues to skill youth from our operational areas in Jharkhand and Odisha. In our mission of enabling youngsters from Jharkhand to realise their true potential, we are delighted to start operating our third ITI at Jharkhand. We look forward to making it a world-class skill institution which will meet the aspirations of the youths of the state and ensure that opportunities are available to them through scholarships and many other outreach schemes apart from training and capacity building.”

He went on to say that the two ITIs that the Foundation have been operating have witnessed good placement track records including foreign inductions, have some of the most cutting-edge equipment by national standards and creates a meaningful experience for the students as well as their families.

Sourav Roy, chief, Corporate Social Responsibility, Tata Steel, said that TSF’s focus will be to reach out to excluded communities especially in the tribal belts where youths receive specialised skills, the right knowledge and know-how to apply them.

"This is also the next step in the significant roadmap for skill development that the Foundation has envisaged for the state of Jharkhand. TSF looks forward to working with the state government in rolling out these initiatives across the state," he said.

The ITI to be set-up at Chandil will offer training in technical and vocational courses with an initial intake capacity of 100 students and will begin functioning from the 2023 academic session. It will offer various technical courses like electrical, fitter, turner and welders with a duration of two years and aims to make this a platform where local youths can avail employment opportunities and fulfil a dream to contribute significantly to the income of their families.

Notably, areas in and around Chandil have a significant proportion of indigenous people many of whom are physically isolated, concentrated in remote hilly and forested areas suffering from poor accessibility and practising mostly subsistence agriculture, often dependent on forest produce.

The ITI to be set-up there aims to provide national-level quality skill force and support towards nurturing, growth and development of youngsters by giving exposure to various professional courses and training support.

It will also work towards creating aspirations in the minds of girls to explore careers in the technical domain and become independent while also contributing to the fortunes of their families.