• Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched an innovative project for skill training of construction workers. 

• The ‘National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers’ (NIPUN) is an initiative to train over one lakh construction workers through fresh skilling and upskilling programmes, and provides them with work opportunities in foreign countries as well.

• The project is an initiative of the ministry of housing & urban affairs (MoHUA) under its flagship scheme of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).

• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the nodal agency under the ministry of skill development & entrepreneurship (MSDE), will be the implementation partner for the project NIPUN.

• The construction industry is poised to become the largest employer and needs 45 million additional skilled workers over the next 10 years. To fulfil this mission, the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) have joined Project NIPUN as industry partners and will identify training job roles of aspirational value in the construction sector in collaboration with the Sector Skill Council (SSC).

How will the project be implemented?

The project implementation is divided into three parts.

i) Training through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at construction sites.

ii) Training through fresh skilling by plumbing and infrastructure SSC.

iii) International placement through industries/builders/contractors.

• Onsite skill training will be provided to about 80,000 construction workers through industry associations under the RPL certification, co-branded with MoHUA, while about 14,000 candidates will receive fresh skilling through plumbing and infrastructure Sector Skill Council (SSC) in trades having promising placement potentials. 

• The courses are aligned with National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and will be imparted at accredited and affiliated training centres. 

• It is also envisaged that NSDC will place approximately 12,000 people in foreign countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and other GCC countries.

• The initiative will enable construction workers to be more proficient and skilled while making them adopt future trends in the construction industry by increasing their capabilities and diversifying their skill sets.

• It will enable the construction workers to seek better job opportunities, increase their wages and even pursue overseas placements.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store