Speaking on the occasion, Minister Kamal Nath said, “When we talk about 6 to 7% growth rate in major cities, I do not see this growth in Tier 2 & 3 cities”. He also said that in the race of getting employment, youth in the districts always lose out in the last mile. The CII National Centre of Excellence for Skill Development in Chhindwara will attempt to ensure that employability increases, he added. 

Shri Kamal Nath also said that with the CII National Centre of Excellence for Skill Development, Footwear Design & Development Institute and NIIT centre, Chhindwara has become one of the very few districts in the country to be offering so many skill development courses.

Outlining the activities of the Skill Development Centre, Mr Rajendra Prasad, Chairman, CII Madhya Pradesh State Council said initially training will be imparted in the trades of masonry, bar-bending, welding, excavator operators and fitters for a period of 1 to 3 months. Each batch will have 15-30 students per trade and will be run by CII member companies namely, Ambuja Cement, JCB, L & T, Punj Lloyd among others. Training in the areas of automechanic, security guards and drivers would be included in due course.

Skill building has been given priority in the national agenda by the Prime Minister.

The centre will become a catalyst in creating a skills movement in the country. The objective is to generate social inclusiveness and provide the socially and economically vulnerable population a chance to be part of the mainstream economy. The CII Skills Development Initiative aims at harnessing India's 'Demographic Dividend' to make the people employable for employment /self employment in India or abroad.