Kerala’s future-forward upskilling ecosystem

Access – Learning – Careers

Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) Kerala

Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) Kerala is a Section-8 Company of the Department of Higher Education, Government of Kerala, that focuses on skilling students and the general community to enhance their employability. Instituted in 2012, ASAP Kerala transitioned to a company under the Companies Act, 2013, in 2021.

With nearly a decade of service, we at ASAP Kerala have become a premier government edTech company, building integrated learning and talent management solutions. ASAP Kerala has nearly become synonymous with skilling, upskilling and reskilling in corporate and academic domains, by offering 150+ contemporary courses in 19 domains and curating a ready-to-deploy workforce. We undertake training through 16 Community Skill Parks and 126 Skill Development Centres instituted across Kerala.

The journey so far

2012

ASAP Kerala was instituted

2013

Skill Development Centres (SDC) established across Kerala

2014

Received Funding from the Asian Development Bank

2015

ASAP Kerala partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Sector Skill Councils (SSC)

2016

Community Skill Park conceptualized and designed

2017

ASAP Kerala awarded ‘Best Practice in Skilling’ by NITI Aayog

2018

Advanced Skill Development Centres set up

2019

Community Skill Parks became operational across the state

2020

Hosted Reboot Kerala Hackathon, and approvals were accorded for 12 NSQF courses

2020

Awarded ‘Best project for effective GAP Implementation’ by ADB

2021

Registered as ASAP Kerala Government Company under the Companies Act, 2013

2021

Special mention for ASAP Kerala in CII-Wheebox ‘India Skills Report 2022’

2022

K-Skill Campaign launched

 

2022

ASAP Kerala gets dual recognition as awarding and assessment agency from NCVET

 

2022

ASAP Kerala honoured for ‘Best Practices of Skilling and Employability’ by FICCI

2023

ASAP Kerala becomes Skill India International Network Center

Where we stand today

2,50,000+

Students Trained

2,700+

Skill Development Executives

150+

Skill Courses

16

Community Skill Parks

19

Skill Sectors

7

NSQF Skill Qualifications

Why ASAP Kerala?

Future-proof courses

Our Research team identifies advanced industries based on an extensive examination, and offers contemporary and industry-relevant courses.

Accessible training centres

Our training centres are spread out across Kerala to ensure state-wide reach.

Industry experts as trainers

Students are mentored by forward-thinking experts in the field.

Placement assistance

We facilitate correspondence between firms and students, ensuring potential candidates to work with the best in business, upon training and course completion.

Internship opportunities

We offer internships in all advanced courses and sectors that can be accessed through our online portal.

Develop career skills

The critical skills that students learn through the courses help them design a better and brighter future for themselves.

Board of Directors

Dr KM Abraham
Dr. K M ABRAHAM
( Executive Director )
Executive Vice-Chairperson, K-DISC
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Dr-Usha-Titus
Dr. USHA TITUS
( Executive Director )
Chairperson & Managing Director, ASAP Kerala
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Ms. Ishita Roy IAS
( Executive Director )
Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department, Government of Kerala
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Smt. Rani George IAS
( Director )
Principal Secretary, General Education Department, Government of Kerala
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Mr. SUMAN BILLA IAS
( Director )
Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Government of Kerala
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Mr. Saurabh Jain IAS
( Director )
Secretary, Labour and Skills Department.
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Faizal-Kottikollon
Mr. FAIZAL KOTIKOLLON
( Independent Director )
Co-founder, Faizal & Shabana Foundation
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Abdul Razak
Mr. V ABDUL RAZAK
( Independent Director )
Director, VKC Group
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ASAP Leadership

Meet the stellar team that inspires us to set our eyes on brighter avenues, and build a sustainable system.

Dr-Usha-Titus

Dr. Usha Titus

Chairperson & Managing Director

Dr. Usha Titus joined the Kerala cadre of the Indian Administrative Service in 1993 after completing her MBBS from CMC Vellore and MD in General Medicine. She served as the District Collector of Palakkad and Kozhikode where she was the first lady to hold charge. She was also the Secretary-in-charge of the Departments of Medical Education, Social Welfare, Non-Resident Keralite Affairs, Environment and Education.


She has served as the Registrar of IIT Madras and as the Vice-Chancellor of Kerala Technological University. In 2010, she was deputed to the Government of India as the Joint Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance where she handled the Multilateral Relations Division and contributed to the G20 negotiations between 2010 and 2015. The Government of Kerala appointed her as the Chairperson and Managing Director of ASAP Kerala in February 2021.

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Mrs. Preethy Leonold

Division Head - Finance and Procurement

Mrs. Preethy Leonold joined ASAP Kerala in 2023 on deputation from the Finance Department, Government Secretariat. With over 13 years of experience within the Finance Department and 7 years as Finance Officer, Mrs. Preethy Leonold has experience in various fields such as General Education, Public Works, Power and Agriculture. In 2022, Mrs. Preethy was promoted to the cadre of Deputy Secretary and was the Finance Officer of the Legal Metrology Department, from where she was deputed to ASAP Kerala as Head Finance.

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Mr. Saji T

Division Head - Training, PR, Marketing, Documentation and Legal

Mr. Saji T. joined ASAP Kerala in 2023 on deputation from the Department of Technical Education, Kerala. With 25 years of experience in the Department of Technical Education, Government of Kerala, Mr. Saji T, has worked in the fields of academic planning, curriculum development, budgeting, and faculty training for State Polytechnics. He has served as a lecturer, Head of Department, Deputy Director/Project Officer, Principal and Deputy Controller of Examinations at the Department of Technical Education, Government of Kerala.

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Vigil-Kumar-V-V

Mr. Vigil Kumar V V

Division Head - Talent Base Builders, IT and HR

Mr. Vigil Kumar VV was deputed to ASAP Kerala in 2018. With 15 years of an expansive body of work in academia, industrial training and consultancy, Mr. Vigil Kumar VV works as an Associate Professor in Information Technology at the Government Engineering College, Idukki. He completed his Bachelor of Technology from MS University and Masters in Computer Science and Engineering from Anna University.

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Laiju

Mr. IP Laiju

Business Head - Skill Demand Aggregators and CoE

Mr. IP Laiju joined ASAP Kerala as a Consultant (Training), with an extensive body of work of 25 years in the Electric Power Industry. He has worked in the fields of electricity, power system protection relays, substation automation and smart grid projects, to name a few, for the Governments of India and Kerala, apart from working in the Middle-East.


He served in the capacity of an authorised Consultant for GE (General Electric Co)/ALSTOM Grid for digital substations, protection & automation; and Smart Grid solutions for KSEB Industries in Kerala. He was also a part-time Consultant to Aluminium Industries Ltd., Relays division, Trivandrum, where he led R&D engineers in developing the latest technology, Numerical IEDs and Smart Grid products for the Indian market. Mr Laiju is currently an MIE member of The Institution of Engineers (IEI), and has contributed as an active member of the International GCC-CIGRE Committee and CIGRE India. He held the position of ‘AREVA T&D Technical Institute manager’ in Dubai, and has gained professional expertise with MNCs like GE (General Electric), ABB AUTOMATION CO, AVK-SEG, ALIND; Government of India Organisation like IISER (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research) and Kerala Government PSU - Travancore Titanium Products Ltd., etc. Mr Laiju is also well-versed with international standards of quality process methodologies under ISO 9001-2008.

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Sajith

Lt Cdr Sajith Kumar EV (retd)

Division Head - Community Skill Parks

Lt Cdr Sajith Kumar EV (retd) joined ASAP Kerala as a Consultant (Quality & Projects) after 10 years of service as a Short Service Commissioned Officer in the Indian Navy. He also served as a Group Head in KITCO Ltd for over eight years. His professional expertise is in design, engineering, and contract management responsibilities as part of India’s indigenous submarine programmes.


As a Group Head at KITCO, Lt Cdr Kumar was in charge of overseeing consultancy services for the commissioning of education, healthcare, industrial infrastructure projects and business development activities.

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Vinod-Shankar

Commander Vinod Sankar (retd)

Division Head - Fund Raising & Administration

Commander Vinod Sankar joined ASAP Kerala in 2021. He was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1988. In his 21 years of naval career, Cdr Sankar held appointments associated with the design and fabrication of two famed projects of the Indian Navy – ATV Programme (First indigenous Nuclear Submarine) and ADS Programme (First indigenous Aircraft Carrier). He has also sailed onboard Naval Warships INS RANA and INS JAMUNA as a Chief Engineer Officer.


Following his voluntary retirement from the Navy in 2009, he worked as an AGM (Commercial) at M/s Tebma Shipyards, Karnataka; General Manager (Operations) at M/s Brahmos Aerospace, Trivandrum; and Deputy Director of Indian Institute of Infrastructure and Construction (IIIC) in Kollam, Kerala. 


A Mechanical Engineer from NIT Calicut, Cdr Sankar completed his ME (Mechanical - Advanced Marine Engineering) from Poona University and MBA (International Business) from Pondicherry University. He has also undergone advanced submarine design training at “RUBIN’, St Petersburg, Russia; and training in Missile Canister manufacturing technology from 'Rafael’, Israel.


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Dr. James T G

Division Head - Curriculum Development & Accreditation

Dr. James TG joined ASAP Kerala as the Head of Curriculum Development & Accreditation. With over 30 years of academic and administrative experience, Dr. James TG also has industry experience working at Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd., O/E/N Cochin and United Electrical Industries, Kollam. Dr. James was the Joint Director (Examinations) at APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU), Thiruvananthapuram, and has served as faculty at prominent Government Engineering Colleges, including CET. 

As  a  B.Tech and M.Tech  holder from the College of  Engineering, Trivandrum,  Dr. James holds a Ph.D from NIT Calicut and a Diploma in Electronics. He has served as a Professor in ECE at CET for more than 20 years and has a total of 17 years of experience in industry and polytechnic colleges. As an avid learner and teacher, Dr. James has completed various courses and attended workshops related to teaching, learning, and accreditation.

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Join us

If you wish to help make a positive impact on the workforce in Kerala, keep a tab on the current vacancies section in the Careers page.

A Note on the post-COVID world

covid note

The global pandemic COVID-19 is reconfiguring all sectors, including education. Significant changes would be visible in the State too as there is a sizable population aspiring for quality international education and who are ready to move outside the state to top universities and institutions. Future choices of this cohort for higher studies would be unpredictable, but as experts point out, a significant section of Keralites would be looking for quality programmes and institutions within the state and within the country. Higher education institutions in the state, as their counterparts in the rest of the world, have understood this reality and are taking conscious efforts to co-opt technology-enabled educational practices and offer their programmes on a blended learning mode. Equipping faculty, technology platforms, introducing blended learning programmes through learning management systems and curricular reforms are priority areas for higher education institutions of the State if they have to be relevant in the Post-Covid era.


The Future of Jobs Report published by the World Economic Forum in 2018 had already predicted drastic changes in the world of work, with most of the conventional jobs becoming redundant and new job roles becoming relevant. The report highlights the importance of equipping future learners with new skills to work in a technology-based world and universities to evolve new programmes and practices to equip their graduates with future skills. The pandemic has fastened the change and pushed the world to a new reality to which most institutional systems are not ready. Kerala has a slight edge in this regard as the Skill Development Centres under ASAP in Engineering Colleges have already begun to equip engineering students in courses of futuristic technology, including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, Cloud technologies and Virtual Reality. Industry-on-campus and training-cum production centres have already been initiated in Polytechnic colleges in futuristic areas. Contemporary technology infrastructure has been established at Skill Development Centres under ASAP for a blended mode of training. This combined with ASAP’s effort to refashion skill development strategies of the state to meet the requirements of the new normal world will help take vocational training to the next level in Kerala.

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