Three Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in the country will be developed into ‘Green ITIs’ by non-profit organizations.

The first ITI to go green in the country will be the Government Women’s ITI in Mangaluru, Karnataka. All of these will be facilitated by Quest Alliance, an NGO. The work on the Green ITI started earlier this month. The pilot initiative will also be launched in two others- Government ITI Halol, Gujarat and the Government ITI Srikona, Silchar in Assam.

The greening of the ITIs will be taken up at three levels-infrastructural, cognitive and learner preparedness for green careers.

At the infrastructural level, the campuses of these ITIs will be made environment friendly with the end-objective of making them carbon neutral. A green audit of infrastructure and a personalized plan will be created for each of the selected ITIs based on the audit findings. The green plan envisages rainwater harvesting, solar power, waste management, and sustainable gardening.

Shivakumar S, In-charge Principal of the Government Women’s ITI, Mangaluru, said, “Our institute plans to become a green ITI and inspire students to pursue green careers. We also want to inculcate a green mindset among students. We plan to conduct an audit of the institution and then chalk out plans of how we can realise this.”

At the Cognitive level, students will be encouraged to assess challenges within their ITI campuses and create custom green solutions to address local issues. 

Students of these ITIs will then be prepared for green careers. Guest lectures and talks will provide the students with insights into trends and challenges in the emerging green sector. The students of these ITIs will also be provided with career guidance, internship opportunities and placements through Industry engagement initiatives.

“The looming climate crisis and the trends in the future of work point towards green careers. Most of the students of ITIs currently work in traditional industries but the green industry is the emerging industry. Young people in ITIs will need to not only build skills, but also have a mindset that will enable them to navigate future career pathways and make meaningful change in the world. Our objective is to work with ITIs and support learners for the green industry,” said Aakash Sethi, CEO, Quest Alliance.

“The students of these ITIs end up working across industries, many of them highly polluting, and hence it is important to ensure that these students have a sense of responsibility towards sustainable development,” he added.