The 'Skill Development Centre' has come up at the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery (IIGJ) in suburban Andheri. "The new centre has 14 courses with their duration ranging from 120 hours to 540 hours. The courses are aimed at enhancing the skills of those who are already in the industry as well as for the freshers," said IIGJ Chairman Kirit Bhansal.

He said there is no age bar for enrolling in the courses and the minimum educational qualifications have been kept at Class 8 and 10 to give an opportunity to any artisan who wants to upgrade his skills. The total capacity of the courses is 630 students annually, he said. "To start with, we already have applications from 136 students and we are expecting over 300 students in the first year of the short-term courses in the Skill Development Centre," he added.

He said IIGJ has tied up with corporates for enhancing skills of their workers through these short-term courses and is planning to widen their scope to include small jewellers as well as manufactures. Speaking on the occasion, IIGJ Dean Sanjoy Ghosh said the institute is planning to set up a gems and jewellery university going forward. "We are looking for land in collaboration with the Maharashtra government and will announce something in this regard in 7-8 months," he said.

Once the university is set up, he said, the current Bachelor of Arts in Gems and Jewellery course will be changed to Bachelor of Arts in Jewellery studies so that students can seek employment in any segment of the industry once they pass out. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' banker- wife Amruta, who was present on the occasion, said the government has identified 25 acres of land in Mumbai to set up a gems and jewellery park. She said the park, once established, will provide a further boost to the gems and jewellery industry which is a key foreign exchange earner and also employs a large number of people.