Project Saksham – Railways to start 9-month ‘upskilling’ exercise for employees

Indian Railways will start ‘Project Saksham’, India’s largest time-bound ‘upskilling’ exercise, to upgrade the skill sets of its 13 lakh employees. ‘Sakham’ is a Hindi word which translates as ‘capable’ in English.

More Details about ‘Project Saksham’:

‘Project Saksham’ will begin in January 2018 and will continue till September 2018.

• This project comprises training courses and specially designed skill-upgrade modules.
• Every employee of Indian Railways, from the rank of a peon to the Railway Board Members, will have to undergo training under ‘Project Saksham’.
• Nature of training will depend on the work profile of the employee. This may range from a refresher course to gain information about global best practices in respective work areas or upgrading the skills for those involved in technical work.
• Mode of training may either be a five-day on-the-job training, or classroom sessions in Railway Training Centres.
• Railway General Managers have been directed to identify training needs, divide their subordinates into small groups and communicate the entire training plan to Union Railway Ministry by December 31, 2017.
• The project will be launched on January 12, 2018 (tentative date). This date coincides with the 155th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
• Post completion of training, the reporting managers will have to ensure that the newly acquired skills are easily integrated into the regular jobs.

Expected benefits from ‘Project Saksham’:

These courses and modules are expected to boost the productivity and efficiency of Railway employees.

• According to Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani, this training drive will upgrade Indian Railway’s service delivery quality and will prepare the employees to meet higher service expectations from clients/passengers.
• It is to be noted that a groups of Indian railway officers will be sent for training to Japan to gain knowledge about various processes of the Shinkansen bullet train and related technologies.