Divisional Commissioner Kashmir,  Anshul Garg, today chaired a meeting to review the implementation of the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) across Kashmir Division.

The meeting was attended by  Director, Department of Skill Development; Deputy Commissioners of Kashmir Division;  Director, Airport Authority of India; and senior officers from NHPC, BEACON, KPDCL, Industries & Commerce, Excise and other concerned departments and agencies.

During the meeting, Director Skill Development, Dr. Owais Ahmad, gave a detailed presentation on the contours of the NAPS, covering eligibility criteria, benefits, registration of establishments, trades covered, registration of apprentices, training components, and the potential for engagement by Central and State PSUs, Corporations and Banks.

It was informed that NAPS aims to enhance apprenticeship engagement, support establishments, and promote skilling across 12 strategic domains comprising 261 designated trades, by organizing specialized vocational training into structured industrial pipelines.

Addressing the meeting, the Divisional Commissioner stated that department-wise targets have already been fixed to enhance workforce engagement under the scheme.

He urged all departments, PSUs, MSMEs and contracting agencies to register their establishments on the NAPS portal and engage apprentices in the prescribed band of 2.5% to 15% of their total workforce.

He further instructed corporations and executing agencies to ensure project-wise registration on the portal.

The Divisional Commissioner directed Deputy Commissioners to facilitate registration of apprentices from colleges and schools and to monitor progress on a daily basis.

To ensure effective coordination, the Divisional Commissioner appointed Additional Commissioner Kashmir, Zahoor Ahmad Magray, as the Divisional Nodal Officer for NAPS to facilitate inter-departmental coordination and achievement of targets.

Emphasizing time-bound achievement, the Divisional Commissioner said there is no scope for slippage as goalposts have been clearly defined, and called upon all officers to make concerted efforts to surpass the assigned targets within the stipulated timeframe.