Pre-departure Orientation (PDO) programme is a collaborative initiative of the MEA and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) under the Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PKVY). This programme is aimed at enhancing soft skills of potential Indian migrant workers largely going to the ECR countries, in terms of culture, language, tradition and local rules and regulations of the destination country, to sensitize migrant workers about pathways to safe and legal migration and various government programmes for their welfare and protection. The initiative has been a success and is being expanded further. PDO programme has two components – i) Pre-departure orientation Training and ii) Training of Trainers.
Pre-Departure Orientation Training
Since January 2018, Ministry has rolled out Pre-Departure Orientation Training (PDOT) Programmes in a structured manner as part of the Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY). Till now 90 PDOT Centres have been opened for Pre-Departure Orientation Training in various cities such as: Delhi (Mandir Marg and Okhla), Mumbai (Videsh Bhawan & Andheri), UP (Lucknow (NSDC), Gorakhpur (NSDC), Bijnor, Deoria, Maharajganj, Kushinagar), Rajasthan (Jaipur, Sikar, Nagaur, Udaipur, Churu, Jhunjhunu), Punjab (Chandigarh (NSDC), Mohali, Jalandhar (NSDC), Jalandar, Amritsar (NSDC), Amritsar, Barnala, Bathinda, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Mansa, Moga, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Pathankot, Patiala, Rupnagar, SBS Nagar, Sangrur, Taran Taran), Telangana (Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Jagtial, Rajanna Sircilla, Kamareddy, Nirmal, Adilabad), Andhra Pradesh (Vijaywada, Kadapa, Vizag, Kakinada, Srikakulam, Chittoor), Tamil Nadu (Chennai (NSDC & NRT), Chennai, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, Karur, Trichy, Salem, Thanjavur, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Vellore), Karnataka ( Bengaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Mangalore, Belagavi), Bihar (Darbhanga, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Patna, West Champaran), Haryana (Palwal, Karnal, Yamuna Nagar, Kaithal, Ambala, Hisar, Mahendragarh), Bhopal, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Trivandrum, and Kochi.
In the aftermath of pandemic, online PDO trainers were commenced from April 2021 to ensure seamless delivery of PDOT to the Indian emigrants. Over 1,15000 (as on August 2022) migrant workers have undergone PDOT thus far.
PDO curriculum content has been standardized all over the country. Comprehensive PDO Manuals for Master Trainers have been developed in seven languages i.e. Hindi, English, Bangla, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. Similarly, Handbooks for migrant workers have also been developed in eight languages i.e. Hindi, English, Bangla, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi and Urdu. Presently, these handbooks are distributed to prospective migrant workers attending One Day PDO Training at various centres.
Training of Trainers (ToT)
The Centre organizes ToT Workshops, in collaboration with OIA-I Division of MEA, State Government Agencies & partners, and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). These workshops are first of their kind in India in providing holistic training on Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) using a structured Manual. The certified Master Trainers impart PDOT to migrant workers in order to ensure that workers migrate safely for overseas employment with an enhanced skill set. The overall objective is to provide information about all stages of the migration process so that the trainer can help prepare the potential migrant workers for the challenges of working and living overseas, and also to return home when the duration of the employment contract ends. The complete migration cycle of an emigrant, starting from the process of recruitment, obtaining of emigration clearance to living and working conditions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, apart from sensitizing the Master Trainers on issues such as welfare & protection measures of Government of India, role of Indian Missions & Posts, transfer of remittances, recruitment related procedures for DSWs, helplines for grievance redressal and role of State Governments during the return and resettlement stages, have been covered in the Manual.
Till date, the Centre has organized 20 workshops in 11 states on migration and pre-departure orientation issues as on date, wherein more than 900 resource persons have been trained, assessed, and certified as master trainers, who impart pre-departure orientation training to the prospective emigrant workers across PDOT centres in the country. These workshops have been in tune with Ministry’s efforts to ensure that workers migrate safely for overseas employment with an enhanced skill-set (‘Surakshit Jaaye, Prashikshit Jaaye’). The 1st Online ToT Workshop for the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) Scheme of the Govt. of Japan was held on 7th October 2021.
The workshops conducted so far have:
Resource Material
Law Enforcement Agencies Handbook
Pre-Departure Orientation Training Manual SSW Japan
Pre-Departure Orientation for Migrant Workers
Training of Trainers Manual
Lists of Certified Master Trainers
Important Information for Migrant Workers
Pre-Departure Orientation for Indians going to the EU