Skill India, French Government and Schneider Electric tie-up to support underprivileged youth

New Delhi [India], Oct 12 (ANI): Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation in partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the industry-led Power Sector Skill Council (PSSC), will co-promote a Centre of Excellence and support training of electricians for underprivileged youth in one hundred Government approved skill development centers. The MoU is a significant step in operationalizing key aspects of the partnership between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Ministry of Education, France to strengthen cooperation in the skill development sector. Schneider Electric Foundation and Schneider Electric India Foundation will donate didactic equipment, setup labs and also undertake Training of Trainer programs in skill development centres jointly identified in consultation with NSDC and PSSC. Standardized programs compliant with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSDF) will be offered leading to a nationally recognized certification for all passing graduates. The Centre of Excellence, to be established in the National Capital Region, will focus on training of trainers, Research and Development and specialized corporate programs in the areas of power, solar and automation. The MoU for the alliance was exchanged in presence of Rajiv Pratap Rudy- Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, H. E. Alexandre Ziegler-Ambassador of France to India, Michel Le Devehat, Representative of Ministry of Higher Education, France, Jean-Pascal Tricoire - Chairman and CEO, Schneider Electric, and Rohit Nandan - Secretary, MSDE. The event was also graced by Jean Marc Fenet, Minister-Counsellor, Embassy of France, Rajesh Agarwal - Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Manish Kumar, MD and CEO of NSDC. With India's ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement, the alliance further supports the commitment towards keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C, through skilling the youth of India towards electrical efficiency and sustainable energy. "We are proud to partner with the Government of India to contribute to the skill equity of the country. We have already trained 52,000 underprivileged youth as electricians through 260 training centers across the country and through this MoU we aim to further accelerate the initiative. We feel we have a whole lot to contribute to develop skilled manpower in the field of electricity and to make India self-reliant in the energy sector. At Schneider Electric, we believe Access to Energy is a basic human right," said Chairman and CEO Schneider Electric, Jean Pascal Tricoire. Schneider Innovation at Every Level harnesses the power and promise of its Internet of Things-powered by Ecostruxure architecture to reshape cities, transform industries and enrich lives through connected products, edge control, apps, analytics and services. Training is key to implement these innovations. "With a heavy focus in our country on national missions like Make in India, Digital India and Smart Cities, there is a great need for skilled workforce in the power, solar energy and automation sector. Schneider is a global leader in this domain and we are certain that this partnership will create a great resource of trainers and assessors in this vertical and then in turn train our nation's youth for greater employment opportunities," said Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajiv Pratap Rudy. "This industry ready workforce will be aligned to the latest modules for applications from a simple machine to the most complex of processes. With the increasing demand for skilled workforce and changing trends in automation, in both industrial and in general day to day life, there is a huge requirement across sectors, which needs to be addressed at the earliest," he added. (ANI)