Raghubar Das inaugurates Jharkhand's first Kaushal College for women

RANCHI: Chief minister Raghubar Das on Friday inaugurated the state’s first Kaushal College for women that will provide one-year training in catering and manufacturing technology at Nagratoli in Ranchi. The Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) will help set the curriculum and faculty development for the culinary course and the manufacturing course will be developed on the World Skills curriculum, complete with computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD/ CAM) and 3D printing and prototyping training.

Das said, “The institute will serve as a tool to train deserving young girls in two world class trades that will not only empower them to get jobs all across the world but also enable them to start a business of their own after their training is complete. All the students who pass out from this Kaushal College will also take part in a compulsory one-year on-job-training to improve their employment prospects.”

The brand-new Kaushal College is a residential training facility with 180 seats in each trade. “The students selected for the 2019-20 session have been selected after a state-level entrance exam where over 17,500 students attended from all over Jharkhand ,” Himani Pandey, secretary of the scheduled tribes, scheduled caste, minority and backward class welfare department, said.

The inaugurated college is being operated by PanIIT Alumni Reach for Jharkhand Foundation (PreJha Foundation), a special purpose vehicle of the state’s scheduled tribes, scheduled caste, minority and backward class welfare department. The college will have 10 permanent faculty members, five each for both the trades, along with a host of visiting trainers and faculty members.

Welfare minister Louis Marandi also spoke of how skill training is empowering women from backward communities across the state. “PreJha foundation has 22 Kalyan Gurukuls operational across the state that are providing skill training to women and youngsters from ST, SC and minority communities,” Marandi said. “While the nursing college at Chanho is already functional with training capacity of 240 women, five more nursing colleges are proposed to be opened at Gumla, Itki, Chaibasa, Sahebganj and Jamtara within the next year. These skill training institutes will go a long way in empowerment of women from the remote pockets across the state,” she added.

Katsuo Matsumoto, chief representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency in India, who was also present at event said, “Japan and India have joined hands for improvement of the skill levels of human resources in both the countries. We hope to extend our presence in Jharkhand soon.”