The demand for Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country is scaling unprecedented highs with skill development becoming a buzzword under the ruling government.
Several reasons have contributed towards the ITI boom. Besides the governmental push and underscoring skill development as a priority sector, govt. implemented a movement from the manual to a simplified online system.
On an average, about eight new ITIs—lead institutes for acquiring and developing vocational skills—are being set up across India every day. Technical and higher education minister of M.P says that agreements are signed with private companies to impart training to ITI students so that they can get jobs. There is a rush among corporates to set up ITIs as part of their CSR effort. Also, there is an increasing demand for skill acquisition and ITIs are expanding into new geographies and areas where there was no such facility before.
With the mushrooming of ITIs, there are quality and regulatory issues to be addressed in an urgent manner. Govt. is trying to devise a ranking system for the ITIs across the country. Top states with the biggest number of ITI are Uttar Pradesh (2,185), Rajasthan (1,769), Karnataka (1,481), Madhya Pradesh (886), Bihar (873), Maharashtra (863) and Tamil Nadu (722).
Operated by both the government and the private sector, ITIs are vocational training organizations that provide post-school technical training. There are 13,105 ITIs catering to 18,65,629 students at any given point of time. While 2,293 are government-run, 10,812 are operated by the private sector.
Interestingly, the demand for ITIs is rising in the face of plummeting demand for engineering courses in the country with a whopping 13.3 lakh seats in engineering going vacant in the last three years The government is actively considering utilisation of capacities in such engineering institutes by introducing skill development and entrepreneurial courses so that skill development capacity is enhanced with minimum investment and optimal utilisation of resources.