Manohar Lal, graced Labour Skill Certification Ceremony organised by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) at General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA), Kasturba Nagar, Sewa Nagar, New Delhi today. The ceremony was organised as part of the Government of India’s Skill India Mission.
Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Power, Shri Manohar Lal, graced the occasion and awarded skill certificates and ID cards.40 ‘Workmen’ have successfully completed an 80-Hour Skill Development Training Programme in MIVAN Shuttering Systems.
The training was conducted onsite at the GPRA project under the CPWD’s initiative to upskill labourers directly at construction locations.
The event was also attended by Shri Srinivas R. Katikithala, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Sh. Satinder Pal Singh, Director General, CPWD and other senior officials.
In his address, Shri Manohar Lal underlined the significance of equipping the workforce with modern construction skills, noting that a shortage of skilled labour often affects the quality and pace of infrastructure development. He commended CPWD’s efforts to bring structured training to the grassroots level and align it with the National Skill Development Mission.
In his address to the workers, contractors, and officials, he emphasized the crucial role of skill development in realizing the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
He highlighted that the construction industry particularly requires skilled workers to achieve desired quality standards. CPWD has adopted a proactive approach to address this skill gap. He announced that CPWD will increase the number of workers to be trained in the next financial year from 10,000 this year to 25,000. He also declared that it has now been made mandatory for contractors to engage at least 20% certified skilled workers in projects costing more than ₹10,000 crore, or provide them formal training on-site.