Utkarsh Bangla Scheme 2023-24 (6 month- 2 Years Course)

West Bengal government has launched the Utkarsh Bangla Scheme with an aim of providing vocational training to school dropouts. The scheme was launche by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. On this occasion, she also released a book on Utkarsh Bangla.

Utkarsh Bangla Scheme (6 month- 2 Years Course) :-

Utkarsh Bangla scheme was launched by Hon’ble Chief Minister on 16th February, 2016 for the entire Skill Development interventions to provide wage/self-employment linked skills training to the resident of the state of West Bengal. Under this scheme, all interventions funded by the various state Government Departments/Bodies /Agencies from state and other funds leading to Skill Development is made by PBSSD on their behalf. The major objectives under the Scheme are: • To give vocational training to school drop outs/unemployed youth by providing training ranging from 100 to 1500 Hours free of charge. • Capacity Building through empanelment of Private Training Providers and Training Centres.

Key features of scheme Objective of the scheme is to give vocational training to school dropouts by providing training ranging from 400 to 1200 hours free of charge. Under this scheme, Utkarsh Bangla Scheme (6 month- 2 Years Course)beneficiaries will be trained in driving, tailoring, repairing television and other electronic equipment’s, beautician courses etc. On completion the courses beneficiaries will be given Certificates would be given to those.The state Vocational Education Department will nodal agency in charge of implementing the scheme. Utkarsh Bangla Scheme (6 month- 2 Years Course) The syllabus for courses under this scheme has been made in line with the National Vocational Education Qualification Framework.

Interventions under PBSSD under the purview of  Utkarsh Bangla Scheme (6 month- 2 Years Course) :-

Under PBSSD there are primarily three interventions under the aegis of Utkarsh Bangla: a) Non – Project Mode: The candidates register themselves to PBSSD directly and according to their preferred locations and courses PBSSD allocate the training providers for skilling. b) Project Mode: The training providers are given a target of 1 year and accordingly the training providers mobilize the candidates and complete the target. c) Recognition of Prior Learning: The training providers mobilize candidates who don’t have formal skilling certificates but have experience in certain sectors and skill them to acquire certificates.

Objective of the Project Mode Intervention of Utkarsh Bangla Scheme (6 month- 2 Years Course) :-

The objective of Project Mode interventions are as follows:
a) To encourage training providers to operate training activities with a prefixed target for a financial year
b) To encourage trainings in remote and uncovered areas to overcome the obstacles in mobilization.

How will an association with Utkarsh Bangla benefit my business/ organization?

Performance of an organization is dependent on the workforce having the right mix of skills; and often lack of skilled manpower causes delays and potential loss of revenue. Utkarsh Bangla is working hard to provide adequate skilled manpower, in industry relevant job roles, so that employers have access to a wide talent pool to hire from. Following are the advantages of associating with us:

• Excellent training through international benchmarking (National Occupational Standards, NOS)
• Vocational training to school drop outs/unemployed youth by providing training ranging from 400 to 1200 Hours free of charge
• Curriculum as defined by respective Sector Skill Councils through their QPs aligned to NOS and aligned to industry expectations
• Emphasis on technology-led training infrastructure
• Industry-ready discipline ensured through geo-tagged, time-stamped biometric attendance
• Mandatory third-party Assessment and Certification of trained candidates

Sectors covered under Utkarsh Bangla:-

Utkarsh Bangla covers a wide range of industries and sectors such as Agriculture, Apparel, Automotive, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, Beauty and Wellness, Construction, Electronics and Hardware, Gems & Jewellery, IT & ITeS, Leather, Handicrafts, Plumbing, Power, Telecom, Tourism & Hospitality amongst many others. You may know about the different sectors covered under the Utkarsh Bangla Project Mode by exploring the sectors.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) under Utkarsh Bangla?

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a key element under Utkarsh Bangla. The scheme plans to impart skill-based training to already experienced candidates whose prior experience and skills will be assessed and certified. Through RPL assessment and certification, the candidates will be able to align existing competencies with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) for better opportunities in their organization.

Process of recruitment from Utkarsh Bangla :-

Recruitment of candidates will happen through the PTPs and PTP-ITIs for candidates who have successfully completed the training programmes. In order to facilitate placements, job fairs at the state, district, sub-division and block level may be held. Also there may be permanent placement cell at State and all District levels. Regular contact with industry and other employers may be established for need assessments and placements. You must first get registered . Once you are registered by PBSSD, you will be able to get details of the different Training providers and enlisted students for the chosen industry and job role. When recruiting from the trained pool of rural youth from our PTPs, you need to plan the following:

• Offer regular paying jobs to the placed candidates: One of the core purposes of Utkarsh Bangla is to aid in poverty alleviation through adding diversity to the incomes of rural poor families. Hence, the candidates should be offered regular paying jobs with a minimum salary to sustain livelihood and other basic needs.
• Offer documentation support to the candidates in terms of salary slips/ joint certificates: Our PTPs are required to track placed candidates and counsel them over phone or through in-person visits to motivate job retention over a period of 12 months. There are added incentives payable to PTPs for achievement of such outcomes. This requires continuous MIS which is evidenced through salary slips and joint employer-employee certificates.
• Offer a career path that you will afford to performing candidates over time: Knowing ‘what to achieve and in what duration’ are motivators, be it for urban or rural trained youth.
• Support our monitoring teams in their efforts to collect data & MIS from time to time: In regular intervals, officers from the State Government or its appointed monitoring & evaluation agencies will visit and interact with you, your line managers as well as placed candidates. This healthy interaction is to verify the claims of the PTPs (for disbursement of incentives) as well as an opportunity for you and your team to contribute proactively and constructively in bettering the quality and content of training service delivery.