Tata Steel crosses another milestone towards progressive growth of Jharkhand

In the wake of the company’s undaunted efforts to leverage the population of Jharkhand such that they too come into the floodlight of economic empowerment, Tata Steel today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Labour, Employment and Training, Government of Jharkhand, for the Industrial Training Centre at Tamar, Jharkhand. Earlier on, as part of Jharkhand Steel Project, Tata Steel had inaugurated an Industrial Training Centre at Seraikela-Kharsawan with support of the district administration.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at Nepal House by State representative Mr Kapil Deo Tiwary, Director, Department of Labour, Employment & Training and Mr Avinash Prasad, Chief Resident Executive, Tata Steel, in the presence of Mr Sushil Kr Choudhary, Development Commissioner. Also present on the occasion were Mr S B Prasad, Assistant Director, Training; Mr B D Thakur, Assistant Director, Training, on behalf of the state government. Those present on behalf of Tata Steel included Mr Biswajit Roy Choudhary, Head, Jharkhand Steel Project and Mr B N Sarangi, Chief, Employee Training and Development. This move strengthens and reaffirms Tata Steel’s underlying philosophy of improving the quality of society in which its operations are based.

An urgent need of developing the skills of the local youths and making them fit for employability, was recognized both by the Government of Jharkhand as well as Tata Steel, even as it prepared base for the Jharkhand Steel Project. This Centre, whose academic functions will henceforth be undertaken by Tata Steel, will help impart technical skills among the unskilled or local youth of the area and make them competent enough for the company’s upcoming steel project.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sushil Kr Choudhary said, “This training programme has been initiated jointly by Tata Steel and the Government of Jharkhand, aiming mainly towards progressive growth of the State. Under this, the Government will provide the company with adequate building and laboratories for a period of 30 years. Tata Steel, on the other hand, will be responsible for providing necessary machines, equipment, inspectors, and manpower. Besides acquiring requisite affiliation and bear the running costs, the company will also take responsibility of the centre’s management.”

It has also been mutually agreed upon that student ratio in the centre will be 25:75, that is, while the State Government provides 25 students who will be selected by Joint Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (JCECEB), Tata Steel will select 75 deserving candidates. It is mandatory that each of these candidates be from Jharkhand exclusively. The centre which is scheduled to be functional next year onwards, will coach 100 students at one go.

The prime focus of Tata Steel’s Corporate Social Responsibility has been to create avenues for gainful employment opportunity especially for the socially underprivileged population of the State. Besides generating a sustained source of income, this focus will result in maximum thrust on upward economic mobility of the local communities, especially amongst Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

The Industrial Training Centre at Saraikela has presently recruited the fourth batch with its previous three batches of students being absorbed into the service industry on a major scale. The training centre imparts extensive vocational lessons on industrial safety, personal development, basic bench fitting, industrial tour and comprehensive modules on the respective trades. It is on these similar guidelines that the Industrial Training Centre at Tamar will operate.

Tata Steel stands as a pioneer in promoting technical education in the country. The Shavak Nanavati Technical Institute (SNTI) bears testimony to this. The company’s initiative of imparting vocational training to the local youths such that they find suitable jobs in different channels of work sphere, saw its generation here at Jamshedpur, with the R D Tata Technical Training Centre. This centre stands today as witness to several thousands of young and brilliant minds whose potential talents have been honed made perfect for employment.