Nutana Unnata Abhilasha (NUA) Odisha — Skill Development, Training and Employment Scheme

What is Odisha's employment scheme for youth?

Odisha's current employment and skilling scheme is Nutana Unnata Abhilasha (NUA) Odisha, notified by the Skill Development and Technical Education Department through notification No. SDTE-SD-MISC-0005-2023/7355 dated 6 October 2023. The department describes it as a scheme on "skill development, training and employment", and it is the umbrella under which most placement-linked training for unemployed youth in Odisha now runs.

Nua Odisha carries a budget of Rs 385 crore for FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26 and covers all 30 districts of the state, with special emphasis on Aspirational, tribal and remote districts. According to the guidelines, it is implemented as a State Sector Scheme under the State Plan Budget for three years, and may be continued after that with the approval of the competent authority.

Alongside Nua Odisha the Directorate of Employment runs the Placement Linked Training Programme (PLTP), which is how many candidates actually encounter the scheme at district level.

What problem is the scheme trying to solve?

The notification is explicit about the diagnosis. Nua Odisha exists to address the scarcity of skilled human resources in emerging trades by offering high-quality training, fostering industry linkages and improving employability. It also aims to bridge the skill gap in using new-age technologies inside traditional Odisha sectors, handicraft, handloom and agriculture.

The stated objectives are:

• Provide training in new-age technologies: Cloud Computing, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, automation, robotics and 3D printing, and in other emerging trades that the market demands.
• Democratise skilling by offering high-end courses to youth already inside educational and skilling institutions.
• Address the skilling needs of marginalised communities: SC, ST, persons with disabilities and girls — and of the traditional sector.
• Establish state-of-the-art training centres with equipped labs, train trainers and develop curriculum.
• Foster industry collaboration through a differential approach and suitable incentives.
• Address local skill needs and support District Level Institutions.

What kinds of training does Nua Odisha offer?

Captive Placement through Recruit Train Deploy (RTD). Under this route the industry mobilises, screens, trains and places candidates against its own vacancy. The distinguishing feature is sequence: a candidate is recruited and given an offer letter before the training starts, and the training is then built around the job. The training cost is borne by the Government. Captive employers must provide the minimum training infrastructure for the job role, get assessment and certification from an NCVET-recognised Awarding Body, place at least 80 per cent of certified candidates in each batch, place them in captive or affiliate companies, and pay at least the minimum wage notified for skilled workers in the state where the placement is offered. Employer empanelment happens round the year.

Regular Short-Term Training (STT). Courses generally run 300 to 600 hours as prescribed for the NSQF-aligned job role. Courses shorter than 300 hours or longer than 600 hours are permitted in specific cases. These are offered in sectors with high employment demand and organic market pull, and the guidelines require an effort to reach candidates in every block of the state.

Overseas placement. Training for jobs abroad runs through Recruiting Agents recognised and registered with the Ministry of External Affairs, and Sending Organizations empanelled under NSDC. The package covers domain training, language training, migration support including travel and documentation, and post-placement monitoring.

Digital skilling. Online courses delivered through a web portal for round-the- year skilling, reskilling and upskilling, run by training providers with a proven record in online delivery, with assessment and certification attached.

Special Projects. Short-term and long-term project-based interventions for marginalised and vulnerable groups, difficult geographies and specialised courses that fall outside the regular programme. These can obtain exemptions with the Steering Committee's approval.

Training of Trainers. Reskilling and upskilling of existing trainers and institutional faculty, plus fresh skilling of trainers in new and emerging trades where there is a shortage.

One District One Skill. Each district identifies one signature skill built on its own strength, the guidelines cite mining in Keonjhar, coffee in Koraput and textile or handloom in Bargarh and Sonepur, with a cluster approach where a skill cuts across districts.

Who is eligible for Nua Odisha?

You can apply if:

• You are a youth of Odisha interested in skilling. The scheme is deliberately broad and covers school dropouts, NEET youth (not in education, employment or training), students already in ITIs, polytechnics and higher educational institutions, and graduates and postgraduates seeking reskilling.
• You hold the qualification prescribed for the specific job role you want. The scheme sets no single education bar; each NSQF job role sets its own.
• You are in any of the 30 districts. Aspirational, tribal and remote districts receive priority in target allocation.

Focus groups explicitly named in the guidelines are girls, persons with disabilities, transgender persons and youth from SC, ST and minority communities, and the Skill Development portal records earmarking of around 30 per cent of targets for women and 20 per cent for other priority groups.

You are not eligible if:

• You do not meet the entry qualification laid down for the job role you have chosen. This is a course-level bar, not a bar on the scheme.
• You are not a resident of Odisha, since Nua Odisha is funded as a State Sector Plan scheme from the Odisha budget.
• You are applying as a training provider or employer rather than as a candidate. Agencies come in through empanelment, an Expression of Interest or a Request for Proposal route decided by the Steering Committee, not through the candidate registration form.

What documents are required?

How to apply for Nua Odisha skill training

1. Open the Odisha Skill Development Authority portal at skillodisha.gov.in, or the training portal at skillshub.skillodisha.gov.in, and create a candidate registration with your Aadhaar number and mobile number.
2. Browse the available job roles and batches in your district and check the entry qualification for each, the qualification bar belongs to the job role, so a role you are not eligible for will not accept your application.
3. Choose a course and an empanelled training centre near you, and submit the application with your education certificate, residence proof and photograph.
4. Attend the screening or counselling call from the training provider. Under the Recruit Train Deploy route the employer screens you first and issues a recruitment letter before training begins.
5. Complete enrolment at the centre, where your biometric attendance is registered on the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System.
6. Complete the 300 to 600 hour course and sit the assessment conducted by an Awarding Body recognised by the National Council for Vocational Education and Training.
7. Collect your NSQF certificate and take part in the placement drive the training provider is contractually required to arrange.

How to apply offline in your district

1. Visit your District Skill Development and Employment Office (DSDEO), an Industrial Training Institute or a government polytechnic in your district.
2. Ask for the current Nua Odisha or Placement Linked Training Programme batch list. The Directorate of Employment reported 39 PLTP schemes running under the Odisha Skill Development Authority.
3. Fill the enrolment form with your Aadhaar, education certificate and residence proof, and get the acknowledgement.
4. Attend the counselling session, where the District Skill Development Mission maps you to a job role that matches both your qualification and the district's demand.

How the scheme is run and monitored

Nua Odisha is implemented by the Directorate of Employment, the Directorate of Technical Education and Training and the World Skill Centre, working through existing and new skilling institutions and industry partnerships. Project Implementing Agencies are selected through a notified process and approved by a Steering Committee, with an Executive Committee below it and a District Skill Development Mission in each district.

Training quality is protected by three mechanisms worth knowing as a candidate: NSQF alignment of the job role, assessment and certification by an NCVET-recognised Awarding Body rather than by the training centre itself, and Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance so that batches cannot be shown on paper alone. Impact assessment and evaluation, capacity building and a feedback mechanism are built into the guidelines.

Common problems and where to complain

• Centre asks for a fee. Training cost under the scheme is borne by the Government. Report a demand for money to the District Skill Development and Employment Office.
• Batch announced but never starts. Take it up with the DSDEO, which reports to the District Skill Development Mission.
• No placement drive after certification. Placement obligations sit on the training provider and, under the RTD route, on the captive employer at 80 per cent of each certified batch.
• Certificate not issued. Assessment and certification come from the Awarding Body, not the centre; ask for the assessment agency's name and batch code.

Grievances can be taken to the Directorate of Employment, 3rd floor, Niyojana Bhawan, Kharavela Nagar, Bhubaneswar, on 0674-2391730 or 0674-2395460, and to the Skill Development and Technical Education Department at sdte.odisha.gov.in. Registration and training under Nua Odisha are free, and no agent can charge a candidate for a seat in a government-funded batch.