ADB, India sign $85 million loan to support Odisha skills development project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $85 million loan to improve the skills development ecosystem in Odisha and establish an advanced skills training center, the World Skill Center (WSC), in the state capital Bhubaneswar.

The signatories to the Odisha Skill Development Project were Mr. Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, who signed on behalf of the Government of India, and ADB Country Director for India Mr. Kenichi Yokoyama, who signed for ADB.

“The project will improve the quality and industry-relevance of the state’s TVET programs and will impart advanced occupation-ready skills training that is aligned with international standards and meet the employment needs of the emerging sectors in India and globally,” said Mr. Khare after signing the loan agreement.“The project will engage the Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES), Singapore, to support the Odisha Skill Development Authority in setting up and operationalizing WSC, which would offer internationally benchmarked advanced training programs for the working age population of Odisha,” said Mr. Yokoyama.

The project will help over 150,000 people learn skills in priority sectors, including manufacturing, construction, and services for formal employment. WSC will deliver eight training courses for 13,000 full-time students, provide training for 5,000 teachers, and train 1,000 assessors. It will improve the overall ecosystem of skills development in Odisha by providing integrated services through an entrepreneurship incubation center, a career counseling and placement center, a curriculum design and development center, and education technology deployment center. These important functions of WSC will support a network of government ITIs and develop skills and capacity of polytechnics, college of engineering, and other private skilling centers.

ADB will also administer a $2 million technical assistance grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan, that will support capacity development activities under the project.

Original source: ADB
Published on 3 December 2018