Bhubaneswar, March 31: The higher education department has decided to introduce four new vocational courses in at least 30 Plus Two colleges across the state.

The new courses will be launched in security, automobile, retail and information technology. Each course will accommodate 25 students and the colleges concerned will be allowed to admit a maximum of 100 students for the four courses.

“The new courses have been specially designed by Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education, Bhopal. The course curriculum will be gradually modified to align with the course structure of the Council of Higher secondary Education,” said an official of the department.

The institutes were selected based on the availability of infrastructure, laboratory facilities and classrooms.

“Institute that lack adequate facilities will co-ordinate with nearby engineering colleges, polytechnics and ITIs to utilise their facilities,” said the official.

The 30 institutes were selected following a survey in various education zones across the state. The training will stress on job skills, soft skills training and internship to enhance employability of the students.

The courses will later be introduced in other institutes as well. The directorate of vocational education will supervise the implementation process.

Sayed Memorial College (Bhadrak), Itamari College of Science and Technology (Nayagarh), UG Mahavidyalaya (Angul), SAN Mahavidyalaya (Jagatsinghpur), AES College (Sonepur) and Kesinga College (Kalahandi) are some of the colleges where the courses will be available.

The school and mass education department is in the process of choosing appropriate vocational courses that will link students to higher technical education. Officials of the department were also directed to link up the training with laboratories and workshops for hands-on practice.