Skilling scheme for construction workers launched
The ministry of housing and urban affairs on Monday launched a scheme named National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers (NIPUN) to train around 100,000 construction workers.
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the nodal agency under the ministry of skill development & entrepreneurship (MSDE), will implement the NIPUN project.
Under the project, 80,000 workers will receive re-skilling while about 14,000 will be trained for new skills. The courses are aligned with National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and will be imparted at accredited and affiliated training centres.
Speaking on the occasion, urban development minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the construction industry has been investing in skilling but it has not spread horizontally across the industry. Therefore, the initiative taken by his ministry should expand to cover a larger number of such workforce.
Trainees will be provided with Kaushal Bima, a three-year accidental insurance with coverage of `2 lakh, digital skills such as cashless transactions and the BHIM app, orientation about entrepreneurship. They will also be brought under Employees’ provident fund (EPF) scheme and building and other construction workers’ welfare board (BOCW).