Vedanta Aluminium’s Project Sakshyam Empowers Young Graduates with Advanced Industrial Training

By Kalinga Voice Last updated Oct 28, 2024

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, October 28, 2024, Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, through its flagship skill development initiative, Project Sakshyam, has successfully supported ITI graduates from Jharsuguda and neighbouring towns and villages in securing advanced industrial training at the prestigious World Skill Centre, Bhubaneswar. Under Project Sakshyam, a year-long residential program, the students specialise in diverse trades such as mechatronics, mechanical and electrical services, vertical transportation, and electrical technology. After successful completion of the program, Vedanta recently felicitated the meritorious students for their achievement in securing employment with leading organizations including Tata Motors and JohnsonLift and Escalator.[SY1]

Speaking about this initiative, Sunil Gupta,Chief Operating Officer, Vedanta Aluminium, said, “Project Sakshyam embodies our unwavering commitment to empowering the next generation. We are immensely proud of our graduates, whose remarkable achievements are a testament to their hard work and potential. Skilling the younger population is integral to our vision of elevating the socio-economic status of the communities where we operate. By equipping them with market-relevant skills and fostering a culture of continuous learning, we are not only helping secure their future but also bringing remote areas of the country into the socio-economic mainstream. It’s an honour for Vedanta Aluminium to have been a part of their transformative journey.”

Arati Mahato, a student said, “I am grateful to Vedanta’s Project Sakshyam for offering me specialized training in Mechanical and Electrical services. This advanced training has not only equipped me with the critical skills to transform my career but has also empowered me to excel and make a lasting impact in the field.”

Apart from Project Sakshyam, Vedanta’s skilling programs in Odisha span multiple locations:

At the aluminium plant in Jharsuguda, Odisha, the company has collaborated with Ashok Leyland and the State Government for a light motor vehicle and heavy motor vehicle training program. Many of the trainees are absorbed in Vedanta’s operations and in nearby industries.
Around its alumina refinery operations in Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district (Odisha), Vedanta Aluminium aims to upgrade the skills of 3,500 youth over the next three years, in partnership with Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) and Vedanta’s collaboration with NABARD.
Skill training centres at Lanjigarh and Bhawanipatna offer training courses for roles in food and beverage, hospitality, and electrical maintenance, to name a few. Graduates of these programs have secured placements with prominent organizations such as Club Mahindra, Minerva Group of Hotels and Restaurants, Honda showrooms, and Sarovar Hotels and Resorts. In this fiscal year, the program saw a successful placement percentage of 77%.
At its mining operations at Jamkhani in Sundargarh, Odisha, Vedanta Aluminium has partnered with Skill Development Institute (SDI), Bhubaneswar and the State Institute of Hotel Management, Balangir, to train more than 60 candidates across various programs. These programs have been successful, with majority of the trained candidates already securing relevant jobs post-training.

Vedanta’s social interventions in the domains of education, healthcare, livelihood, skill development, grassroots sports, art & culture, with a focus on women and child development, reach out to nearly 80 villages in Jharsuguda and nearby areas, benefiting over 3 lakh people in a year. It empowers almost5,000 women from over 350 SHGs, provides doorstep healthcare services to about 50,000 people annually, gives educational support to more than 13,000 students, has planted almost 1.50 lakh trees in partnership with locals at the community level.

Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY23. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.