The Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), an apex body of textiles mills in the region, has signed an MOU with the National Skill Development Council (NSDC), to train 50,000 fresh workers in 15 job roles in 2017.

As per the MoU, ITF member mills will train the fresh workers from January to December 2017 and will provide employment opportunities to 90 per cent of them in the mill campus itself.

Through this, the Tamil Nadu textile manufacturing sector will create a robust eco system of training, with proper and uniform systems across the industry in terms of work methodology, which will also help the industry in the long run to improve competitiveness in the textile sector to strengthen the theme of Make In India, ITF Secretary Prabhu Dhamodharan said today.

The MoU was signed during a Skill India event held yesterday in Kanpur, between the ITF team and the NSDC Managing Director and CEO Manish Kumar in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prabhu said.

In the Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) pilot phase, ITF member mills trained 17,500 freshers in 15 job roles in the textile manufacturing value chain and employed 80 per cent of the workers after certification process.

The advantage of the scheme is uniform work procedures and training modules followed across India for a specific job role, with the Skill Development Ministry supporting the initiative through reimbursement of training costs to the training providers, said Prabhu.

Already, 83 mills from ITF have applied for training provider status and created an infrastructure for training in this PMKVY version II scheme and another 52 mills will join from next month, he said.

The whole scheme is designed in a professional manner and every process from training to certification is monitored and supported by Textile Sector Skill Council, Prabhu said.