EMPOWERING THE FUTURE:

IESC Leading India’s Skilling Revolution in Construction Equipment Industry

Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council (IESC) was set up in 2014 to contribute to be a part of the National Skill Development Mission officially launched by the Prime Minister in 2015 on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day. The Mission has been developed to create convergence across Sectors and States in terms of skill training activities.

IESC’s objective was ‘to initiate, carry out, execute, implement, aid and assist activates towards skill development in the Indian Construction Equipment Industry Sector (“Sector”) and meeting the entire value chain requirements of appropriately trained manpower in quantity and quality on a sustained and evolving basis’. Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council (IESC) is the apex body for spearheading the skilling of workforce in the Infrastructure Equipment Sector. IESC is a “not for profit” promoted by the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (ICEMA), and partners with the National Skill Development Council (NSDC).

Glenville da Silva (then with Volvo CE) was the first Chairman of IESC and Vikram Sharma (then with Kobelco) was the first Co Chairman. The Board had representation from OEM members, NSDC and DHI nominees and soon members from end user Industries, Academia and Associations (BAI) were also added to broaden the scope and perspectives of the Association.

In the early years, an extensive exercise was undertaken to identify the right job roles that needed skilling intervention. Equipment was identified that accounted for more than 80 % volumes in the industry and work was started on developing NOS (National Occupational Standards) and QPs (Qualification Packs). These Qualifications have been developed by teams of Industry experts with deep insights into the requirements of different categories of Equipment. Our range of equipment includes broadly – Earthmoving, Road Building, Concrete, Material Handling and Mineral Processing. Within each category there are multiple types of Equipment. So, the scope and range are enormous, and this requires deep knowledge of the Equipment and their usage. Hence Industry support has been crucial in building these course curricula. In addition to the above outlined Qualifications, IESC also offers customized Upskilling programs of shorter duration for experienced operators and technicians. For example, changes in Technology necessitate the introduction of modules on Telematics, Mechatronics, Automation, Safety features and so on. These can be developed and run at project sites or training centers. So, it is a dynamic process of continuously helping keep the operators and technicians abreast of the latest technologies embedded in the equipment. Over the years, efforts were made to affiliate more training partners and trainers certified by IESC. IESC represents more than 40 OEMs in the Construction Equipment Industry, many of whom are multinationals. Many of these OEMs have state of the art training facilities in which they deliver their programs. IESC also works with private training partners and NGOs in delivering their training programs.

Since its inception, IESC has developed 40 job roles covering over 80% of the work force, accredited over 100 training partners, certified over 800 trainers, and trained over 70,000 personnel.

IESC signed agreements with multiple State Governments to promote skilling and help opening avenues of employment. MOUs were signed with various State Skill Development Missions such as Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra to scale up skilling activities.

Following the MOU with National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), IESC successfully completed programs to skill personnel being employed at various road construction project sites in the North East.

Concerted efforts were also made to partner with Academia and Industrial Training Institutes to promote awareness and engagement with Industry.

Over the years, IESC has participated in multiple Government-run programs including the flagship PMKVY. IESC has also participated in the NIPUN (National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers) programme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs which was flagged off in 2022.

IESC was given Awarding Body (AB) status by NCVET (The National Council of Vocational Education and Training) in July 2022. 28 Job Roles (Qualifications) of IESC were revised and the upgraded versions were approved. These are aligned with the NSQF (National Skill Qualifications Framework).

IESC aims to create awareness about the industry. In recent years, there has been a concerted attempt to increase awareness of the CE Industry through exhibitions, seminars, and an outreach to academia. The end user industry that includes contractors, construction companies, mining companies and others have also played their part in promoting the benefits of skilling. These have provided impetus to the skilling movement.

A study commissioned by the CE Industry Association (ICEMA) on the Technology Vision Road Map 2035 focused on jobsite safety, jobsite solutions and sustainability. Corresponding evolution of skills was also studied. Many of the focus areas such as Safety features, AI/ML integration, Autonomous and digitalized construction, alternative fuels are being explored. IESC will look to expand its footprint by adding more members, expanding partnerships, including more products and pushing for widespread adoption of its Qualifications.

IESC is also engaged in using technology for delivering its programs. This involves increasing deployment of Simulators and AR/VR in the training centres.

IESC’s vision is to create a sustainable industry aligned ecosystem for robust skill & entrepreneurship development in the Infrastructure Equipment Sector

IESC caters to the huge Skilling demand in the Infrastructure Equipment Industry: The Construction Equipment Industry is a key enabler of Government’s flagship infrastructure projects. The Construction Equipment (CE) Vision Plan 2030 envisages a 3X growth in volumes between FY20 & FY30, implying that ~3 million CE operators and technicians will be required to operate & service Infrastructure equipment between FY20 & FY30.

Government Connect / Public Advocacy: IESC works closely with NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation of India) and the apex regulator NCVET. All IESC job roles are aligned with the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF). IESC executes government skilling projects through its training partners.

Qualification Packs and Content: IESC job roles, aligned to National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF), cover a wide range of areas including equipment operations, maintenance & repair and supervision.

Additional job roles in emerging areas of new products and technologies are constantly evaluated and actioned upon. IESC has 28 Job Roles that are currently available at NSQF levels 3, 4 and 5. IESC offers Member companies with inputs to upskill their existing workforce and hence reduce/eliminate the skill gap.

Accreditation of Training Partners (TPs) and Affiliation of Training Centers (TCs): IESC assists in accreditation of training partners and affiliation of training centers. IESC works with industry partners, academia and private training partners in setting up a skilling ecosystem to cater to the evolving skilling needs of the industry.

Building Strategic Partnerships: IESC offers a platform, through regular meetings, conferences and exhibitions, for members to connect on key issues related to skill development in the construction equipment Industry. Industry partnerships, academia connect, linkages with private training partners and NGOs are facilitated by IESC.

Project Management: IESC implements Skilling projects through its partners. The activities include coordination with funding agencies, allocation of targets to partners, monitoring of project execution, ensuring uniformity and consistency in training delivery and process audits at project sites.

Creation of a Pool of Skilled Personnel: IESC, through its industry validated qualification packs, network of training partners and trainers, provides member companies with access to a large and skilled pool of trained and certified manpower who are ‘industry ready’ in the construction equipment industry. industry partnerships, academia connect, linkages with private training partners and NGOs are facilitated by IESC.

Project Management: IESC implements skilling projects through its partners. the activities include coordination with funding agencies, allocation of targets to partners, monitoring of project execution, ensuring uniformity and consistency in training delivery and process audits at project sites.

Vijay Kumar
CEO, Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council, (IESC)