New Delhi: Forty-nine districts across eight states – Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, UP and West Bengal – contribute a major share of construction workers engaged in highway projects across the country, according to a mapping of labour origins carried out by the National Highways Authority of India.In a first-of-its-kind exercise, NHAI has collated details up to the village level from where workers travel to highway construction sites, in a move to provide targeted skill training to these labourers. “This will enhance their employability. Trained manpower in highway projects will help ensure timely completion and better quality of work. Training of people working at project sites is crucial,” said an official.Officials said PM Modi recently directed the road transport ministry to undertake a focused skill development drive for labourers and supervisory staff by launching dedicated training courses.TOI has learned that a detailed framework is being prepared to train workers from these identified localities, and prominent ITIs, diploma colleges and engineering institutes have been shortlisted for the purpose. NHAI will sign MoUs with the institutes for training. It will also work closely with highway developers to implement the programme.

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People involved in the plan said while NHAI will provide a seed fund, highway builders are expected to contribute through their CSR funds. Trainees will receive a stipend during the training period to offset any loss of daily wages. “Workers with 7-8 years of experience will be upskilled and developed as master trainers to train fresh manpower. The local NHAI project director will be in charge of implementation to ensure effective execution,” an official said.

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He added that once trained, the workers will be able to get works anywhere and a better wage as well.Meanwhile, the highways authority is also preparing video training capsules on 50-60 topics that can be used to train workers.