The second GC Meeting for the year 2017 – 2018 of LSSC was held at Le Royal Meridien, Chennai on 29th August 2017. The meeting was a ended by Shri Habib Hussain, Chairman, LSSC; Smt. Revathi Roy, Chairperson, FDDI; Dr. B. Chandrasekaran, Director, CLRI and members Shri, Rafeeque Ahmed, Shri. R. Ramesh Kumar, IAS, Shri. Nari Kalwani, Shri Israr Ahmed and Dr. S. Rajamani. Special invitees, Dr. Sanjeev Gupta, Chief Scientist, CLRI; Shri R. Raghunathan, Auditor and Mr. Rajesh A. R, Consultant, LSSC were also present.

Shri Habib Hussain, Chairman, welcomed the members and got approval for  the minutes of the last GC Meeting held on 30th March 2017. Mr. Rathnam, Head-Client Relations, informed that upskilling of workforce in the industry through RPL is under way and LSSC had received a target of 52000 from NSDC and 42000 candidates have already been provided orientation and certified across 10 states. For Short Term Training, NSDC had allocated a target of 3500 for 12 approved centers and LSSC had trained so far 2000 candidates at Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. Supporting this point, Shri Habib Hussain said that Training Partners would be adding new centres based on the job demand at various locations.

Shri R. Ramesh Kumar, IAS, CEO, LSSC, informed the members that the government has implemented an Aadhaar based tracking mechanism in place.  Substantiating this point, Dr. B. Chandrasekaran, Director, CLRI, said that the verification of employability is mandated by DIPP and the government for tracking the candidates. The members were also informed that NSDC has requested LSSC to create an ecosystem in which the trainers are trained by Master Trainers for improving the quality of training. This would be implemented through Aadhaar-based monitoring where one trainer could train 30 candidates per batch.

QP/NOS and Participant Handbook Development

The members were updated about the 50 QPs developed in 2 phases and that the QPs were approved by NSDC, QRC and NSQC. Later, QPs for roles like Cobbler and Assistant Cobbler were drafted. A er rationalizing, the final number was brought down to 33 job roles in Level 2, 3, and 4.

Third Party Assessment and Certifications

Mr. Rathnam informed the members that State Skill Development Mission (SSDM) delivering skill training would be assessed and certified by LSSC.

Upcoming Projects

Shri R. Ramesh Kumar, IAS, informed the members that a proposal had been submitted to DIPP to implement skill upgradation Programme for 25,000 candidates under HRD sub-scheme of DIPP – ILDP and the same was under consideration. The Training program will be of 40 hours duration. He also informed that LSSC is in the process of signing an MoU with Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) to train 15,000 candidates in the state of Haryana for FY2017-18.

Bachelor of Vocational (B.Voc) Course

The members were also updated on the B.Voc courses. LSSC has had several discussions with scientists from CLRI and members of FDDI, CFTI, NIFT, GCELT-Kolkata, PDDC – Meerut and Agra to conceptualize a B.Voc course. NSDC has directed LSSC to design the course with multiple entry and exit points and ensure work-ready students for the industries. The course would offer Diploma, Advanced Diploma and degree in Footwear, Goods & Garments and Finished Leather with a duration of 3 years following credit based system.

National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)

The Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGE&T) under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship has notified ‘National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme’ (NAPS) with a target to provide apprenticeship training to 50 lakh youth by 2020. LSSC envisages that Leather Industry can contribute to this scheme by engaging 1,00,000 apprentices in the next 3 years. Shri M. Rafeeque Ahmed insisted that LSSC should offer an Apprenticeship programme which is beneficial to the industry and training has to be done at the factory premises.

LSSC – Media and Online presence

Shri Nari Kalwani appreciated the efforts of LSSC through its online media presence. He congratulated LSSC team for design and content of the Quarterly Newsletter and suggested that inputs from Industry members could be taken and published through the Newsletter.

The Chairman and Mr. Rathnam presented Administrative details and Financial performance of the council to all the members and the meeting concluded with some key approvals.