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Four Samsung Technical Schools to be set up across West Bengal; first School inaugurated at Women’s ITI, Gariahat in Kolkata
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Samsung Technical Schools to create pool of talented workforce with hands-on experience
Samsung Electronics India and the Government of West Bengal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up four Samsung Technical Schools in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the state, aimed at providing youth with vocational skills that make them readily employable. The MoU certificates were exchanged between Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Mamata Banerjee and Mr. B.D. Park, President & CEO, Samsung South West Asia at the “Kanyashree Prakalpa” event held at the NSG Indoor Stadium on August 14, 2014.
The first Technical School was also inaugurated on August 14, 2014 at the Women’s ITI, Gariahat by Shri Hridesh Mohan, Secretary – Technical Education & Training, Government of West Bengal and Mr. Daniel Park, Senior Vice President, Customer Satisfaction, South West Asia, Samsung Electronics. Out of the total population of eight crore in West Bengal there are over one crore unemployed youth. This initiative gives these youth not only an opportunity to gain technical skills but also help them with suitable job opportunities. The first batch at the Women’s ITI, Gariahat has already commenced training from August 18, 2014, and will target 82 students. The training will last two months, with graduates, post evaluation, getting an opportunity to be placed in Samsung service centres.
Speaking at the inauguration Shri Hridesh Mohan, Secretary – Technical Education & Training, Government of West Bengal said “Skill development and creating job opportunities to the youth is one of the key focus areas for the Government of West Bengal. Having a better interaction between employers and educational institutions is one of the accepted measures for reducing unemployment. Technical education and training would provide skilled technicians supporting the emerging opportunities in the manufacturing sector of the State. Samsung’s initiative towards opening technical schools is a step in the same direction. The first Samsung Technical School at Women’s ITI, Gariahat is a key milestone and a step forward to provide substantial opportunities to the students who are looking at different avenues to gain skills which will make them readily employable. These partnerships help in further enhancing the intake capacity of the existing institutions as well as induction of better training in emerging fields.”
The Technical Schools are being set up across the state as part of Samsung’s commitment to provide youth with industry-ready skills, under its Corporate Social Responsibility platform. The Technical Schools will run Samsung’s Advanced Repair and Industrial Skills Enhancement (A.R.I.S.E.) program, specially designed to provide students trade-specific training on various aspects of repair and troubleshooting for consumer electronics products such as mobile phones, televisions, home theatres and home appliances. Students will also get real-time working experience at Samsung authorised service centres. In addition to technical skills, the students will get a chance to learn soft skills which will further enable them to provide exemplary customer service.
Mr. Daniel Park, Senior Vice President, Customer Satisfaction, South West Asia, Samsung Electronics, said, “Samsung India is honoured to partner with the government of West Bengal to bring its A.R.I.S.E. program to ITI students in the state. We see much potential in the state to be a hub for manufacturing consumer electronics, and we are confident that the Samsung Technical Schools will fulfil the important need for trained, industry-ready manpower. The program is targeted not only towards rural but urban areas as well. At Samsung, we are constantly looking for ways to use our technologies to open newer possibilities for people everywhere, and we hope that the ITI students who undergo the A.R.I.S.E. training will help them advance this vision of Samsung.”
The MoU with the government of West Bengal is the latest of Samsung’s partnerships with the State to address the critical need for a large pool of talented manpower with practical know-how and relevant industry experience in India. The most recent MoU was with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India to set up ten Technical Schools at MSME Technology Centres across India, with the first School inaugurated at MSME Extension Centre in New Delhi. Samsung has also established a technical lab at the ITI in Dheerpur, Delhi, in collaboration with the Directorate of Training and Technical Education, Government of NCT of Delhi, with plans to open more labs across India. The first batch of from this program, comprising 78 students, completed the program in July 2014, with over half of them getting placed in Samsung Service Partners in the National Capital Region. ‘Guru Shiksha,’ a training program for ITI teachers on imparting vocational skills to the teachers, was also launched early 2014.
Samsung has, over the years, leveraged its legacy of technology innovation through philanthropic initiatives focused on helping communities lead healthier, smarter and more sustainable lives. In addition to skill development among youth, Samsung also places substantial focus on providing underprivileged children a chance at quality education. This is done through Samsung Smart Schools, set up in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across the length and breadth of the country. The Smart Classes are equipped with an interactive Samsung whiteboard, Samsung laptops for the students, a printer, wi-fi and a power backup since power outages are common. Over 140 Smart Schools have been set up to date in India, benefitting over 60,000 secondary class students. Samsung continues to expand the program based on positive feedback received from the schools on the impact on student learning and attendance.
