The National Highways Authority of India will kick-start a structured skill development and capacity building program to meet the growing scale, complexity and quality requirements of the National Highway network in the country.
The initiative aims to upgrade skills of the construction workers to meet emerging standards of quality control in ongoing projects, as well as to strengthen capabilities for maintenance of developed National Highway assets, the ministry of road transport and highways said on Wednesday.
NHAI has undertaken a detailed mapping of the origin of construction labour engaged in the National Highway projects with data collected up to the village level to identify regions from where workers travel to work at the construction sites.
The key labour-origin clusters identified in 49 districts in eight states include West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
This data-driven approach will help NHAI to facilitate targeted skill training closer to the worker location leading to improved accessibility, participation and long-term retention of trained manpower, it said.
To impart skills training, NHAI has identified prominent local institutions such as Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), diploma colleges and engineering colleges in these regions to work as training centres.
Under this, experienced workers with seven to eight years of experience will be upskilled and developed as ‘master trainers’ to train fresh manpower. Additionally, respective NHAI field officers will serve as nodal officers for implementation of the program at the regional level.
The program will be implemented in partnership with volunteering National Highway construction companies, with NHAI providing seed funding and participating construction companies contributing under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments.
Also, a dedicated skill training website will be developed, which will act as a central repository for capsule training videos and course material to support continuous learning and wider outreach.
The ministry is of the view that the initiative will strengthen the skill base of the workforce and significantly enhance their employability.
Also, creating a pool of trained and skilled workforce will contribute to improved quality and efficiency of National Highway construction while simultaneously promoting skill development and livelihood opportunities in remote regions, it said.
The initiative aims to upgrade skills of the construction workers to meet emerging standards of quality control in ongoing projects, as well as to strengthen capabilities for maintenance of developed National Highway assets, the ministry of road transport and highways said on Wednesday.
NHAI has undertaken a detailed mapping of the origin of construction labour engaged in the National Highway projects with data collected up to the village level to identify regions from where workers travel to work at the construction sites.
The key labour-origin clusters identified in 49 districts in eight states include West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
This data-driven approach will help NHAI to facilitate targeted skill training closer to the worker location leading to improved accessibility, participation and long-term retention of trained manpower, it said.
To impart skills training, NHAI has identified prominent local institutions such as Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), diploma colleges and engineering colleges in these regions to work as training centres.
Under this, experienced workers with seven to eight years of experience will be upskilled and developed as ‘master trainers’ to train fresh manpower. Additionally, respective NHAI field officers will serve as nodal officers for implementation of the program at the regional level.
The program will be implemented in partnership with volunteering National Highway construction companies, with NHAI providing seed funding and participating construction companies contributing under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments.
Also, a dedicated skill training website will be developed, which will act as a central repository for capsule training videos and course material to support continuous learning and wider outreach.
The ministry is of the view that the initiative will strengthen the skill base of the workforce and significantly enhance their employability.
Also, creating a pool of trained and skilled workforce will contribute to improved quality and efficiency of National Highway construction while simultaneously promoting skill development and livelihood opportunities in remote regions, it said.
