The Centre of Logistics Training for Excellence (COLTE), established by Redington Foundation in collaboration with the Logistics Sector Skill Council (LSC), was inaugurated at Sector 3, Khusiabil, Dimapur on Friday, Septmber 11 with the State government highlighting the centre’s potential to improve employment opportunities for youth in Nagaland.

Deputy Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang, who formally inaugurated the centre, said COLTE would serve as a bridge between Naga youth and the growing logistics sector, while stressing the need to address unemployment through industry-relevant skill development.

Zeliang said over 71,000 people were registered as unemployed with the State’s Employment Exchanges, citing the Directorate of Economics and Statistics’ Survey Report on Employment, Unemployment and Skill. He added that 92 percent of the registered unemployed reportedly lacked formal technical or vocational training.

He said Dimapur’s position as a major commercial and transport hub made it particularly suited for developing logistics-related skills. He noted that goods produced in Nagaland, including Naga king chilli, kiwi, coffee and bamboo products, move through the Dimapur corridor to markets outside the State.

Zeliang said the LSC would provide curriculum, national certification and industry linkages, enabling trainees to pursue employment opportunities beyond Nagaland. He described COLTE as the first centre of its kind in Nagaland and the Northeast, and said it would provide training in areas including warehousing, supply chain management and logistics technology.

An MoU was also exchanged between the LSC and Zipaworld Innovation Private Limited for international placements. According to Zeliang, the arrangement could enable trained youth to access employment opportunities outside India.

Advisor for Labour, Employment & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Moatoshi Longkumer, said the inauguration marked the materialisation of an agreement signed between the State Department and Redington Foundation and LSC on March 31, 2026, in Kohima.

Longkumer said the centre was expected to train 360 students annually, with a minimum placement rate of 75 percent, and operate for at least three years. He said Redington Foundation was supporting the project through a CSR commitment of Rs 1 crore, while the State government would provide space, administrative support and assistance in candidate mobilisation.

He stressed that the success of skill-development programmes should be measured not only by the number of people trained but also by their employment outcomes.

Longkumer also said COLTE would undertake upskilling and reskilling, industry visits, practical training, training-of-trainers, placement facilitation and specialised programmes for industry.

Zeliang urged youth not to view government employment as the sole measure of career success and called for effective use of the facility. He said the State government would work with its partners to ensure employment outcomes and explore replicating the model in other logistics-relevant areas of Nagaland.