India conducts it’s first ever placement ceremony for retiring Indian Air Force personnel through Skill Certification

• Announces initiatives under the strategic partnership between Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
• Rudy hands out job letters to retired IAF Personnel at Skill Certification ceremony

New Delhi, April 27, 2015: Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy  today applauded the completion of a pilot project in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence to skill and train IAF personnel post their retirement. This was the first ever placement ceremony for retiring India Air Force personnel through Skill Certification.

The skill certification and placement ceremony was held at IAF auditorium, wherein 56 retired IAF personnel were handed over skill certificates conforming to the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and placement letters. The ceremony was presided over by Minister of Defence, Shri Manohar Parrikar and Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (I/C) and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy and also saw dignitaries like Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Rohit Nandan, Air Chief Marshal, Arup Raha and NSDC CEO, Mr. Jayant Krishna.

As part of the pilot project, these 56 retiring Air Force Personnel were mobilized to undergo training programs post mapping of their trades to National Occupational Standards. Sector Skill Councils provided them training as Trainers and Assessors in three sectors – medical, electronics and automotive, which was followed by their Assessment & Certification. The 3 pilot Institutions identified for these trainings were Mechanical Transport Training Institute, Electronics Training Institute and Medical Training Centre.

These efforts are in line with the MoU signed between the two Ministries in July 2015 to partner in various skill development initiatives. The MoU seeks to provide additional skills to around 60,000 service personnel who retire every year at a comparatively young age in the ranks of Officer, JCO, NCO or Jawans. There is a need to facilitate their resettlement through a financially viable career serving the civil society and adequate skilling will ensure gainful employment of these personnel

Congratulating the IAF on the success of this pilot, Shri Manohar Parrikar said, “There is a huge shortage of skilled workforce in the country. Skill development and identification is a huge focus for our Hon’ble Prime Minister and we together will ensure that we deliver to his vision. I thank my colleague Rajiv Pratap Rudy for recognising this opportunity where we can collaborate.”

“Our personnel are not only fighting for the security of the nation at the borders but will contribute in securing the economy of the nation as well. We are certain to accelerate this partnership in the next couple of years and not even one single ex-servicemen will have to worry about his career post retirement,” he further added.

Applauding the success, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “Every year 5,000 air warriors retire from the Indian Air Force who are between the ages of 32 to 47.  There is a keen focus for utilising the services of these retirees as trainers and assessors in skill development ecosystem, considering the acute scarcity of experienced trainers in the country. Retired defence personnel with their discipline, leadership qualities and technically sound capacity are a great resource to fill this gap across sectors.”

“The Hon’ble Prime Minister himself has emphasised on the knowledge and experience that an armed force personnel has and how they should be utilised for nation building. Our efforts will be towards recognising and quantifying their skills to create opportunities equivalent to their current capacity, not only in India but internationally as well,” he further added.

Shri Rudy also said, “Last year has been the year where we signed number of MoUs and partnered with various ministries and organisations. Today’s event is yet another milestone in seeing the implementation of the Skill India mission.”

National Skill Development Corporation has been working in this direction and has developed a model to roll out Skill Development courses on National Occupational Standards at the Services Training Establishments and Institutions through the existing setup of trainers, classrooms, laboratories, assessors etc.