Strengthens its commitment towards skill India mission with 271 electrician training labs across regions
New Delhi: March 10th , 2018: Schneider Electric India Foundation (SEIF) – the social commitment arm of Schneider Electric India, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced the inauguration of a world class Solar Lab in the capital city, as a part of its robust ongoing skilling mission. The project further strengthens the organisation’s commitment towards supporting government of India in its efforts towards skilling the youth of the country for better employability in the Smart City era. The solar lab project will be part of New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) Smart City Center, and will be educating youth on various facets of renewable energy sector in India, particularly solar.
The inauguration was marked by the visit of H.E. Ms Brune Poirson, Minister of State for Ecological and Inclusive Transition, France, in the presence of Mr. Naresh Kumar, Chairman, NDMC. Ms. Poirson is on a state visit as a part of the French delegation of Ministers visiting the country along with President of France.
Speaking on the inauguration, Mr. Venkat Garimella, Vice- President, CSR & Energy Efficiency, Schneider Electric, said, “At Schneider, we believe that access to sustainable energy is a basic human right. Considering the growing climate concerns, renewable energy is becoming a key source of energy generation world-wide. Today, lack of trained resources with relevant knowledge to construct and operate solar plants is a challenge within India’s workforce. This skill gap is increasingly seen as a barrier to realise the country’s renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022, with 100 GW expected to come alone from solar power. This leads to the need of right skill sets in the renewable energy sector. At Schneider Electric the commitment to promote and provide access to safe and clean energy is at the core of its business philosophy.”
With the opening of this new centre, Schneider Electric now has ten functional Renewable Energy Training Centres across India. It has a total 271 training centres conducting electrician training initiatives spread across India. The organisation has successfully reached out to 85,000 unemployed youth since the beginning of its electrician training program in 2009. In the solar sector specifically, Schneider Electric has trained more than 600 youth and plans to train another 1500 technicians by March 2018. Globally, the company plans to train one million youth, 10,000 trainers and support 10,000 entrepreneurs by 2025.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naresh Kumar, Chairman, NDMC said, “National Skill Mission is going to be a milestone for the developed India. NDMC is fully committed to extend its support to the project by introducing best practices in skilling. This PMKK for skilling in smart cities, would not only focus on high quality training but also on employability of the youth.”
The centre is a collaboration between National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), an executive arm of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and New Delhi Municipal Council Smart City Limited (NDMCSCL) as a part of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra initiative. The centre has a capacity of skilling 4000 youths annually.
