State mulls to set up ‘Centre of Excellence’ on electric vehicles – EQ Mag
kolkata: The state government is planning to set up a Center of Excellence (COE) on e-vehicle which will act as a skilling hub for East and Northeast India.
The State is looking for a partnership with the UK government on getting the knowledge and technology transfer for the creation of the COE. The state has primarily identified Kolaghat Government Polytechnic College for this purpose.
“Bengal was the first state to launch e-vehicle courses for Diploma Engineers in 2021. The course was developed in partnership with GIZ.
Many from the 1st batch of students are currently engaged with TATA Motors. The move now is to skill manpower across levels of skills required for managing the transition to e-vehicles.
“The focus would be on fresh students as well as the existing workforce through upskilling and re-skilling,” Anoop K Agrawal, state Principal Secretary, Department of Technical Education, Training and Skill Development said at a workshop on Building Electric Vehicles charging infrastructure in India.
The workshop with the UK government to understand the scope and expanse of skilling is the first of its kind.
NPTC Group of Colleges, Wales-UK and British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata and West Bengal State Council of Technical & Vocational Education and Skill Development, in partnership with NPTC Group of Colleges Wales, UK, which specialises in training on Electric Mobility, organised the workshop. S Suresh Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary of the state Power department said that skill development is crucial for maintenance and also EV manufacturing.
“The COE will introduce innovation that will help in the dynamic development of infrastructure and manufacturing,” he added. Peter Cook, British Deputy High Commissioner to East and Northeast India said: “The UK Government is keen to deepen our engagement with West Bengal through the creation of an EV Skills Roadmap and a wider knowledge exchange with UK experts to help drive forward Bengal’s EV Policy.”
A report on ‘Capacity Building for Electric Vehicles and the Charging Infrastructure in India: Opportunities and learnings from the UK’ was released at the event.
It underscores the crucial importance of collaboration among different stakeholders, such as industry players, education providers, and policymakers, to facilitate the creation and delivery of relevant and practical training and skills development programmes.
Source: PTI
