Indian Plumbing Skills Council (IPSC) has partnered with HSIL Ltd, the makers of Hindware brand of plumbing products, to create a plumbing lab at the State Institute of Plumbing Technology (SIPT-ITI) at Pattamundai in Kendrapada, Odisha. The new lab marks Skill India’s “successful” partnership with corporate India to boost skilling in the plumbing sector as part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Skill India’ Mission and is expected to impact an estimated 10,000 beneficiaries in Odisha, IPSC said in a statement.
“Odisha has always been known worldwide for its skills and workforce, especially the plumbing community which is now working across geographies. Odisha’s youth has great potential and the right aptitude for knowledge and training. Our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of a $5 trillion economy can only be achieved if we continue to invest in our youth and promote skill development so that we can reap our demographic dividend to the best. Over the past few years, we have been seeing greater participation of private companies in the skilling initiatives of the government. This is a very heartening development as it is only through such kind of collaborations with industry will we be able to succeed in our mission. This initiative will boost the technical know-how of the workforce in the industry and the academia giving them employment opportunities in the plumbing segment,” Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said.
Pandey also emphasised on the critical need for water conservation. He has recently announced the Jal Shakti Abhiyan which is a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign. “Having skilled plumbers is one small contribution to the water resource management exercise being undertaken by our government,” he added.
“We are committed towards the government’s ‘Skill India’ initiative and are focused on empowering the resources in the Indian plumbing industry. We are constantly engaged with the external ecosystem to bring effective and impactful learning models. Our new initiative with IPSC and the Skill India Mission at SIPT-ITI is a firm step in that direction. I am confident the rigorous training and quality of the module will help in boosting the competency and make the workforce industry-ready,” Dr R K Somany, chairman and managing director, HSIL Ltd said.
This lab becomes a part of IPSC’s endeavour to build different kinds of infrastructure across the country as a part of the Hub-&-Spoke Model. The plumbing lab at SIPT ITI, Pattamundai is a Regional Training Facility (spoke) aimed towards creating an aspirational value to the youth for plumbing and providing basic knowledge of plumbing. Students that undergo training from this centre will stand a chance to progress their career in plumbing and will also gain the opportunity to move towards various Centres of Excellence (one of which is being created by IPSC in Greater Noida) for further training and skill enhancement.
Odisha continues to be the main base of plumbers and is known for plumbing expertise. Pattamundai is famous for its plumbing community and in the district; almost every household has at least one member working in the plumbing trade. The plumbing sector in India is highly unorganised, contractual and migratory and its various diversified sub-segments such as contractors, manufacturers, and consultants were not represented by any organisation. IPSC was launched to bridge the gap between the skilled demand and supply of manpower and has been consistently offering excellence in vocational proficiency, backed by holistic skill development for the plumbing community to help reduce this skill deficit.
