Chennai: The country requires more private partnerships to provide jobs in rural areas while providing employability skills is “utmost” need of the hour, Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.

“The government has been emphasizing the Make in India campaign consistently.While there are several manufacturing companies, most of them are running short of skilled labour.

To encourage employment across these companies, skilling labour is the utmost need of the hour,” Rudy said during his visit to the operator training school set up by Schwing Stetter, at Sriperumbudur near here. “India should be a country filled with entrepreneurs and we need more private partnerships that will in turn provide jobs for more people across rural areas. Handling concreting equipment is a skill that needs to be specially trained,” the minister was quoted as saying in a release. Concrete equipment manufacturing company Schwing Stetter has set up the in-house operator training school. The city-based company had partnered with Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council and also unveiled the “Centre of Excellence” on the occasion. Noting that India was running short of skilled operators and mechanics for operating construction equipment, Schwing Stetter India Managing Director Anand Sundaresan said, Schwing Stetter and member companies of Construction Equipment Manufacturing Association have partnered with Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council and were playing major role in “skilling operators.” Through the Centre of Excellence, construction equipment operators would receive a certified degree for equipment operation and maintenance. Training would be provided to the unemployed youth under the Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojana, the flagship scheme of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Students taking up the course would receive monthly stipend of Rs 10,000 and placements in manufacturing companies, it added. — PTI