The state’s skill education department is reimagining its industrial training institutes as more than pipelines for jobs. Think of them now as neighbourhood ateliers, where anyone can walk in after hours to pick up or polish a skill.

Want to be trained in conducting special poojas for the forthcoming Kumbh Mela in Nashik? Step right in. Want to master the art of rolling tangy imli candies? Your local ITI can show you how. From heritage crafts to hyperlocal trades, from new-age technology to forgotten arts, these once-formal institutes are transforming into community classrooms, offering training that is as eclectic as the people they serve.

“Post ITI working hours, the institute will turn into a classroom for anyone wanting to learn something new. Courses will not be enlisted by officials of Mantralaya. We have decentralised the process, allowing local ITIs to draw up the list of courses they want to offer, to source expert instructors, to collect fee,” said skill education minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha.

Across Maharashtra’s 419 ITIs and 141 technical high schools, special training programmes will offer everything from trades that can fetch quick employment to niche skills that could plant the seeds of entrepreneurship.

The scale of the rollout is staggering.

The very first batch, to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, will train 75,000 people across the state.

In a symbolic gesture, every ITI will invite a craftsman of that institute to preside over the event, honouring the dignity of labour.

The ITI will not just remain an industrial training institute but become a portal to livelihoods and possibilities that stretch far beyond the workshop floor, said Lodha. Courses will be designed to be brisk and accessible, running between three and six months. By the end of the year, the skill ministry estimates that nearly 5 lakh people will pass through this system.

The vision is to bind technical knowhow with broader life skills.

“Four courses, personality development, entrepreneurship, financial management, marketing management and basic AI will be offered as a part of every course —whether drone technology or make-up artist,” Lodha explained.

By weaving the practical with the aspirational, the initiative reframes the role of ITIs. “No longer confined to producing assembly-line workers, these institutes could soon become spaces where a weaver might learn digital marketing, a young graduate might pick up drone piloting, and an artisan could pair age-old craft with entrepreneurial savvy,” added Lodha.