Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during function in Hunar Skill Center of Hero Group at Ludhiana on Friday.
Ludhiana, August 22, 2014: Pankaj Munjal, Co-Chairman and Managing Director of Hero Cycles, India’s largest cycle manufacturer, has been appointed as the Chairman of Punjab Skill Development Board; a new initiative by the State Government to impart training to the large untrained workforce of Punjab.
The announcement was made by Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Chief Minister, at the Graduation ceremony of the first batch of Hero workers to graduate from the company’s Skill Development Centre in Ludhiana on Friday.
Badal cited the success story of Hero’s Skill Development Centre, which triggered the idea of setting up of State Board and termed it as a decisive step in improving the skill development of youth of Punjab. “This initiative from Hero Cycles has been a major boost to the local industry at a time when it is struggling with issues like lack of skilled manpower and manpower scoring low on employability index” he said.
“I am confident that under Pankaj Munjal’s mentorship, lakhs of young people in Punjab will find opportunities to play a more useful and positive role in the economy of the state” the Chief Minister added.
The Punjab Skill Development Board will aim to provide professional training to millions of unskilled and semi-skilled workers in Punjab. The board, which will have its headquarters in Ludhiana, will aim to position the industrial city as a centre of product and process innovation. State Government has allocated a sum of Rs 8.5 crore as an initial investment to set up and run the Board.
Speaking on this development, Pankaj Munjal said, “It is crucial that we need to change our strategy from Jugaad to Innovation. This high-powered Board will aim to arm the youth of this state with expertise, knowledge and world-class training to be positioned as amongst the best trained workforce in the entire country.”
Hero Cycles Skill Development Center, a world-class skill development & training centre in Ludhiana, was inaugurated by Parkash Singh Badal in 2013. Since then 35 workers have been imparted with skill expertise and leadership lessons to upgrade themselves in their professional path. After the resounding success of the first batch, Hero Cycles has now decided to increase the scope of training at the centre to involve other trades like welding, maintenance and tool room. The company also plans to increase the strength of the batch from 35 last year to 100 people in the coming year.
Speaking at the occasion, O P Munjal, Chairman, Hero Cycles said, “Looking at the scarcityof quality and well-trained workforce in the state we decided to start a world-class training centre in Ludhiana. But after the tremendous success of the first batch of students, we want to now open our gates to more such talented people. We want other semi-skilled workers to learn various technical programmes from the best industry experts at our skill development & training centre.”
“Our aim is to ensure that the youth of Punjab becomes popular around the world for being amongst the best trained skilled workforce”, Munjal added.
Hero Cycles selected 25 of its most promising workers through a scientifically-designed evaluation process consisting of written test and interview to enroll them in a program that would graduate them from worker to supervisor and put them in a leadership role. The course content and methodology were carefully crafted to impart the course in the most practical and useful manner, with a balanced theoretical and practical syllabus. Hero Cycles tied-up with Chitkara University which successfully conducted this programme.