The Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC) has inaugurated a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Patna for capacity building in the telecom sector with Huawei Technologies Corporation Limited, under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The CoE is expected to cater the roles in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), cyber security, electronics and communication including technical, services and allied fields. This includes job roles for internet of things (IoT), call centre executive, ToT, ToA, among others.
Commenting on the development, Ravi Shankar Prasad, former IT minister, said, “TSSC is fulfilling the need of the hour by creating high-end skill centres to cater to demand from the youth. We need more industry-aligned training to empower our youth with advanced skills like 5G and IoT. I want to see more being done for the state of Bihar.”
The memorandum of understanding (MoU), which has been signed for a period of five years, is aimed at the skilling/reskilling/upskilling of aspiring students to enhance their employability through training in innovative technologies. This includes finding potential sponsoring agency (government/private) for developing the suitable infrastructure at NIT Patna for smooth conduction of the training programmes. The CoE will also train the trainer and assessor program for certifying trainers and assessors.
Meanwhile, Arvind Bali, CEO, Telecom Sector Skill Council, said, “Frontline workforce skilling and upskilling for the telecom industry has become imperative with the accelerated growth of the industry. We are seeing new technology-enabled ventures every day with telecom being their backbone, and to fulfil client delivery, we need to have the workforce in place. Huawei will be a strategic partner who will help us align with the future demands of the industry and NIT Patna will provide the crucible for the transformation of the students.”
TSSC will be supplying training content, network of training partners, industry connect, NOS as per industry demand, institutionalise accreditation process for training providers, assessment and certification of assessors, trainers, and trainees, all of which would be endorsed by the industry. The centre will also serve as an adequate facility for industrial training for B. Tech/ Diploma/ Certificate courses. The lab setup will cater to high-end courses in IoT technology. Once the period of the MoU is over, the centre will be handed over to NIT Patna.
Additionally, Harsh Khurana, executive director, Huawei India, said, “Huawei has been a strong proponent for telecom growth in the Indian market. India has immense potential to develop quality skilled workers and TSSC has a proven history for finding prime movers in the ecosystem. NIT Patna is one such institute which is why we chose to work over here. The accelerated technological growth of the Indian market will lead to more services and manufacturing in the telecom industry. We chose a futuristic technology like IoT taking into consideration the growth potential of IoT with projects like NDCP and Smart Cities India.”
NIT Patna will host the lab setup and all equipment necessary for the training. It will additionally be supplying a faculty list for those who wish to be trainers at the CoE. The institute will be in control of the centre to optimise operations at the centre.
Also, Pradeep Jain, director, NIT Patna, said, “We at NIT Patna consistently strive to raise the educational standard of NIT-Patna. As a legacy engineering institute, we must upskill ourselves with the changing times. Huawei and TSSC present the perfect mix of technical prowess and operational control for us to collaborate with them to train students in futuristic job roles. This CoE will be attracting aspiring entrepreneurs and technical enthusiasts. We plan to churn out high-calibre global talent through the CoE.”
