Punjab Infotech, the Department of Higher Education and the Department of Technical Education, have collaboratively undertaken some skill development initiatives aimed at upgrading the skill sets of the youth in Punjab. These initiatives will assist the state in creating a higher employability index. The availability of better qualified manpower in the state would provide an impetus to more corporate hiring and corporate presence in the state, which in turn would lead to increased employment options. These courses can be
taken by students in their final year of graduation.
Punjab Skill Training for Employment Potential
Punjab Skill Training for Employment Potential (P-STEP), an initiative of the Department of Higher Education, facilitated by Punjab Infotech, aims at increasing the employability of the students in the state with the IT/ knowledge industry The programme includes training on communication and soft skills as well as basic IT skills. It is a 100-hour course to be completed in about four months. The course will help in upgrading the soft skills and communication skills of the government college students who are generally not imparted with conventional education.
The project was implemented in 23 colleges. Hundred hours of training, post-assessment tests, and certifications have been successfully completed in all the 23 colleges covering 1,846 students with positive feedback. Success story of P-STEP There are 670 students who have received offer letters from various reputed companies through placement activities conducted by training partners in colleges.
The companies that have done placement drives in colleges include Aditya Birla-Retail, Future Group (Big Bazaar), Tech Mahindra Pvt Ltd, HCL, Vardhman Pvt Ltd, Angel Broking Pvt Ltd, Tata Teleservices Pvt Ltd, Competent Synergies, Spanco, Onus Research Services Pvt Ltd, SBI-Life Insurance, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Eureka Forbes, Spice BPO, IBM, Matrix Solutions, New Delhi and Universal Solutions, and Kochhar Infotech.
Global Talent Track
The main objective of the alliance with the Global Talent Track (GTT) is to provide a long-term viable solution to the problem of unemployment in Punjab, thus creating skill sets for a large group of educated youth in the state, which in turn will help them get suitable employment. The venture has been established to train aspiring students on vocational skills in the areas of marketing, banking, business, insurance, etc, that will help them get adequately skilled manpower for the industry.
The availability of better qualified manpower in the state would provide an impetus to more corporate hiring and corporate presence in the state
Candidates attending P-STEP Session
To narrow down the growing gap between the supply and the requirement of trained resources, GTT has partnered with Cisco Systems Inc and other leading universities in India to support the emerging growth requirements of the industry.
Out of seven colleges where GTT was implemented in 2011-12, the batches had commenced in six government colleges. Around 132 hours of training, post-assessment tests and certification has been successfully completed in five colleges, covering 200 students with positive feedback. Sixty four students have received offer letters from various reputed companies like Shoppers Stop, Eureka Forbes, HDFC Bank, First Source Solutions Ltd, through placement activities conducted by the GTT.
National Assessment of Competency Test
The state has undertaken this initiative to help build a pool of manpower, which is industry-certified and employable. The National Assessment of Competency (NAC) test helps a student identify the skills where he/she needs improvement. The introduction of skill-specific training based on the test score can provide a great impetus to increase employability of the students.
In NAC test, students are tested on five different skills namely: analytical ability, english writing, quantitative ability, keyboard skills, and english speaking and listening.
