National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) on Tuesday said the it would partner private sector companies in a big way as part of its plan to set up industrial training institutes (ITIs) across the country. The joint ventures would involve minority equity participation from NSDC while the private partner would hold the majority stake.

NSDC entered into a joint venture with Empower Pragati Vocational and Staffing through 10 per cent equity participation to skill more than two million vulnerable young women and men across India, with a focus on transforming the informal sector, which would include domestic help and drivers. This follows an earlier agreement signed by NSDC with IL&FS.

“This is the largest partnerships we have done for NSDC in which we are partnering with IL&FS for setting up 100 mini industrial training institutes across the country over the next five years with an investment of around Rs 150 crore. Other than IL&FS, we have other partners such as Centum Learning, Empower Pragati Vocational and Staffing and Globsyn,” CEO and MD, NSDC, Dilip Chenoy said.