Pillar: Education & Training
A Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) is a state-owned training centre that teaches practical job skills in technical trades after school. ITIs offer 6-month to 2-year courses ("trades") under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) -- electrician, fitter, welder, mechanic, Computer Operator and Programming Assistant (COPA), and similar occupations. CTS currently runs across 169 National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF)-compliant trades, from conventional trades to newer Industry 4.0 trades. Most trades admit students who have passed Class 10; some accept Class 8. Training is strongly practical: roughly 70% of time is spent in workshops and 30% in classrooms. Successful candidates receive a National Trade Certificate (NTC); some state directorates also affiliate trades that are recognised only by the State Council for Vocational Training (SCVT), which is a state body, with conversion of an SCVT trade to the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) requiring a fresh joint inspection and State Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Council (SSDEC) recommendation. Selected CTS trades may be delivered as an exclusive batch under the Dual System of Training (DST) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an industry partner. There are approximately 3,300 government ITIs nationally.
If you want to learn a specific trade that leads directly to a job or apprenticeship, a government ITI is the most affordable option. The NTC certificate is recognised by employers across India and qualifies you for apprenticeships under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS).
- Deliver the restructured CTS load of 1,200 annual learning hours (revised down from 1,600 under National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 alignment) plus a mandatory 150-hour On-the-Job Training (OJT) per year of course duration in industry — or group project where OJT is not feasible — additional to the 1,200 hours - Place every CTS trainee on OJT after a minimum of three months of in-ITI training, supervised jointly by industry mentors and ITI coordinators - Deliver the compulsory 120-hour Employability Skills module covering communication, digital literacy, financial literacy, and workplace behaviour - Conduct or support the All India Trade Test (AITT) and issue NTC within 60 days of results - Facilitate apprenticeship linkage by connecting pass-outs with establishments for NAPS registration - Provide basic training to fresher apprentices under NAPS (Block Release Training) - Arrange industry exposure visits (minimum two per year per NCVET / DGT norms — successor to the erstwhile National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT))
Portal: ncvtmis.gov.in -- search by state and district for all affiliated ITIs with trades, seats, and grading scores Also: Check state portals: UP (cmsiti.in), MP (mptesde.mp.gov.in), Rajasthan (hte.rajasthan.gov.in), Bihar (det.bihar.gov.in), Haryana (itiharyana.gov.in)
For what this looks like in a particular district, start from the district courses or the English reference guide (Hindi).