The Government of West Bengal (GoWB) has an integrated approach to Skill Development
throughout the State with the Technical Education, Training and Skill Development (TET & SD)
Department being the nodal department for the state government for all skilling interventions.
To address the requirement of skilled manpower across various sectors and to narrow the
existing gap between the demand and supply of skills, Government of West Bengal has
constituted the Paschim Banga Society for Skill Development (PBSSD) under the chairmanship
of the Chief Secretary to make skill development interventions in terms of the overall policy of
the Government.
In February 2016, the Utkarsh Bangla was unveiled which is the flagship skill development
scheme of the Government of West Bengal. Under this scheme, the Recognition of Learning is a
provision where a platform is provided to recognize the skillsets which have been acquired
through informal ways. This recognition is certified through the varied Sector Skill Councils set
up under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. This certification
seeks to allow a greater acceptance in the industry and market. Some of the benefits of the
Utkarsh Bangla Scheme are:
Free-of-charge training for the improvement of livelihood and sustenance of lifestyles
400 to 1200 hours of vocational and technical training
Training in various different types of courses such as driving, tailoring, repairing
television and other electronic equipment’s, beautician courses etc.
Post-training campus placements in organizations such as Samsung, Raymond, Berger
Paints, Maruti Suzuki, ASSOCHAM etc.
A brief snapshot of developments under the Utkarsh Bangla scheme has been presented below
The annual target for skilling in the state would be around 6 lakh youth under institutional and
non-institutional mode. Paschim Banga Society for Skill Development (PBSSD) is the
implementing agency of the Utkarsh Bangla Scheme. The various sectors covered under the
scheme are –
While the scheme envisages to bridge the gap between the demand and supply for skilled
workforce in the State, it is perceived that the awareness about the scheme and its proposed
benefits have not percolated to the target audience adequately. To address this issue of
penetration and reach, a robust communication strategy is deemed to be necessary to allow
streamlining and focusing of efforts for carrying the scheme to the relevant and intended
beneficiaries in the State and beyond.
