The current government recently completed three years and skill development and vocational training has been one of the key points on the agenda towards inclusive growth and development. In a press conference held on this occasion,Shri. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), shared many achievements in the area of skill development. He stated that MSDE has trained more than 1.17 crore aspirants in various skills through many short and long term skilling programs since the inception of Skill India in 2015. This is apart from the numbers contributed through skill development schemes and initiatives under other Central Ministries.
Highlights: More than 1.17 crore people skilled under MSDE program
- 5 lakh trained under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
- 162 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK) established
- ITI ecosystem re-energised, focus on modernisation of Industrial Institutes
- 9 lakh youth engaged in Apprenticeship through NAPS
- ITI Students get Academic Equivalence for upward mobility
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rudy said, “Skill India is a silent revolution that is underway and is a joint investment that the government along with the private partners, is making for the future growth of the country. It is a path that needs to be tread very carefully since it involves the future of our youth. What we sow today is what we will reap tomorrow. We have hence taken the first two years, to set our base right and align the skill ecosystem to national standards of skill qualification.”
Shri Rudy shared that Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), which was launched on July 15, 2015 by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, alone has witnessed more than 26.5 lakh people getting trained in skills of their choice till date, of which 50 per cent are women candidates.
“It is good to see that more and more women candidates are coming forward to take up skills. Last year women participation under PMKVY was 40%. I am elated to see that we have an equal male female ratio this year cumulatively.”
He further added that, “The industry/private sector will only partner when they see quality workforce coming out from Skill India. We are seeing that transition happen gradually. More and more corporate are partnering with us on different levels whether is it on engaging with apprentices, extending infrastructure support, contribution through CSR funds and hiring of resources.”
Adding on the point of engagement with States, Shri K P Krishnan, Secretary, MSDE said, “Vocational Education is one of the point amongst the 52 items mentioned in the Concurrent list under 7th schedule of the Constitution of India which means that the States have to primarily drive this mandate within the State, along with Centre’s support. The Centre’s support comes in the form of funding, alignment with national standards etc. We have aligned short term trainings with the State Skill Development Missions; and World Bank schemes like SANKALP are also being implemented at the State level. Our efforts will cover the last mile very soon.”
The officials of the Ministry also stated that it is trying to move away from the supply driven skill development scenario to demand driven one, so that we do not have skilled youth who are unemployed in India.
During the event it was also that how that has been a five-fold increase in the number of students who are taking up apprenticeship today. This is essentially the result of comprehensive reforms that have been done in the Apprenticeship Act NAPS where the government is incentivising the industry to encourage engaging with apprentices. Till date there have been 5.9 lakh apprentices who have been engaged under NAPS.
On monitoring of fraudulent practices, Shri Rudy said, “A handful of organizations claiming to be PMKVY agencies promising jobs to unemployed youth were taking money and duping the public in the name of MSDE. Such advertisements were found more in vernacular dailies. We condemn such practices and have filed FIRs against them.” He cautioned the public at large to be vary of such frauds and check for the right affiliated centres before joining.
Out of all the achievements of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the key achievements can be notified as:
- More than 1.17 crore people trained under MSDE programs
- 5 lakhs candidates trained under MSDE’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
- More than 4.82 lakh people were brought into the organised sector through the recognition of prior learning program under pmkvy which recognises existing skills and certifies youth (13000 Rubber Tappers, More than 250 Railway Porters and 1500 Employees of Rashtrapati Bhawan)
- More than 480 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras have been announced which would be model centres for skilling and would be in each district of the country for ease of skilling. 162 are already been established.
- More than 1381 new ITIs have been opened with more than 5 lakh seats and the entire ecosystem of ITIs have been reinvigorated and reenergised
- More than 1 crore people have been trained under NSDC’s short term skilling ecosystem since its inception
- Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana was also launched to promote young entrepreneurs and self sustainability. Target to cover 14.5 lakhs over the next 5 years
- To cater to the increasing demand for drivers, MSDE also launched Driver Training institutes across the nation. There is a target to open 50 of them by end of 2017.
- Special schemes like Udaan in J&K and others in North East have brought avenues of growth and opportunities to youth in these focused regions
- 4 new ATIs have been upgraded into India institute of skills modelled after ITE Singapore
- MSDE focuses on bringing heavy quality focus in skills through adhaar alignment, strengthened monitoring and better curriculum. It is also supported by world bank schemes like strive and sankalp
- MSDE has established convergence through common norms, National skills qualification framework and ISO certification of ITIs
- Skill India also promotes Inclusion and diversity across all programs specially for disability
- India has partnered with 11 countries in the skills agenda promoting global mobility
- Skill support all national missions and partners with 18 out of 20 ministries today
- MSDE also has support from states on infrastructure and skill education in schools/universities
- MSDE has successfully created Industry linkages through apprenticeship, CSR, partnerships in infrastructure and hiring. More than 6 lakh apprentices have been engaged under NAPS
- MSDE with MHRD has partnered to create bridge courses For academic equivalence of ITI students
- Skill India through its technology applications brings in ease of managing systems in process in India
- MSDE has conducted special skill development projects with Armed Forces (Navy, Army, Air Force), CRPF jawans etc.
(This article is based on a press release from the Government of India.)
