(The Gist of Kurukshetra) Initiatives to promote skill development and entrepreneurship [FEBRUARY-2020]

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) Initiatives to promote skill development and entrepreneurship

[FEBRUARY-2020]

Initiatives to promote skill development and entrepreneurship

Introduction:

On July 15, 2015 Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi etched out his vision of skill India, a movement to take India on the fast track to economic growth and progress.
As the nodal ministry charged with fulfilling this grand vision, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has been responsible for all skill development efforts across the country, from building the vocational and technical training framework to skill up-gradation, building new skills not only for existing jobs but also for new job roles that have arisen with Industry 4.0.

Key objectives:

Our vision statement is "to create an ecosystem of empowerment by skilling on a large scale at speed with high standards and to promote a culture of innovation based entrepreneurship which can generate wealth and employment so as to ensure sustainable livelihood for all citizens in the country".
With this in sight, the Ministry laid special emphasis in 2019 on convergence, increasing scale, meeting aspirations of the youth and improving the quality of skilling.
This has led to enhanced skilling opportunities and the creation of a trained workforce in the country, besides inculcating the entrepreneurial spirit among the public at large.

Background:

Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the Skill India campaign in July 2015, with an aim to train India’s youth in market-relevant skills empowering them for the New India and the global market requirements. The programme has been able to instill a sense of self confidence in the youth of the country and have provided them with a platform to support themselves with the skill training of their choice.
According to a 2015-16 report released by MSDE, less than 5 per cent of India’s workforce is formally skilled. Compare this to South Korea (96 per cent), Japan (80 percent), Germany (75 per cent), the United Kingdom (68 per cent) and the United States (52 per cent), and we have a lot of ground to cover. Our aim is to increase these numbers, adopt successful models from these nations and empower many more of the country’s youth.
Driving convergence across various schemes of vocational training, National Skill Development Mission formulated in 2014, gave a fillip to the skill development and entrepreneurship efforts in the country.
As a result of the tenacious efforts under NSDM, more than one crore youth are being imparted with skills training every year under various programmes of the Central Government.

Significance of those programmes:

Among the various initiatives and programmes under the umbrella of Skill India, much-needed reforms have been introduced to apprenticeship training. This has been instrumental in catering to the needs of both a burgeoning talent pool and the industry that seeks trained youth.
The Guru Shishya Parampara has been the essence of the Indian education system dating back to ancient times when students learnt from textbooks and through experiences, helping reality mirror thought.
It is an acknowledgement of this tradition that the Government introduced comprehensive reforms in Apprenticeship Act, 1961.
To recognise and celebrate the contributions of the trainers and gurus towards Skill India, we also organised the first-ever Kaushalacharya Awards to felicitate trainers from different sectors for their exceptional contribution towards creating a future-ready skilled workforce.
These trainers have helped thousands of youth and have inspired many more technically-equipped and experienced people to join the Skill India Mission.
Industrial giants Germany and Japan, where the working age population is a fraction of that of India’s, have three million and 10 million apprentices, respectively. China has 20 million. India has just 0.4 million, which amounts to less than 0.1 per cent of the employed workforce.

Advantages for India:

This highlights the potential that the demographic advantage of a ‘young’ nation like ours has. It is estimated that Indian industry can absorb 10 million apprentices annually, proving that there is huge capability, potential and scope for an apprenticeship-based approach. The country’s youth will trigger this burst to the creation of a modern industrial ecosystem.
The New India’s dream is also attuned towards skill training with demands of Industry 4.0. The new Industrial Age is boosted by unprecedented technological advancements in Artificial Intelligence, automation, machine learning, robotics and blockchain.
It calls for an urgent need of trained professionals in varied fields where skills are based on the demands of the present economy. Our visionary programmes like Make in India, Start-up India and Skill India are identifying the talent pool for positioning the country as the next big global destination for investors.
India is soon expected to rank among the world’s top three growing economies and the top three manufacturing destinations.

National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme:

The MSDE is also working closely with Central Public Service Units for their support, particularly in bolstering the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), so we can stay ahead of the curve if we are to scale the peak of growth.
Started in August 2016, NAPS acts as a guide of basic training and on-the-job practical experience at workplace with various industries.
The main objective of the scheme is to promote apprenticeship training and to increase the engagement of apprentices.
This has been one of the most sustainable models of skill development with great outcomes worldwide.

Key contributions:

A number of exemplary contributions have additionally made it possible to achieve such success. Aimed at training farmers with small landholdings, the Maharashtra State Skill Development Society (MSSDS) RPL Project registered around 95,032 certifications under the job role of Group Farming Practitioner. The Gram Tarang Employability Training Services envisioned towards creation of a Business Development Service (BDS) network for small and marginal farmers recorded 27,063 candidates eligible for certification.
The RPL project with the Ministry of Power (SAUBHAGYA) aimed at achieving universal household electrification registered over 22,215 candidate certifications under Lineman Distribution and Technical Helper Distribution job roles. The RPL project with CREDAI, an initiative to fulfil the gap and upgrade skills of the construction workers listed over 14,135 certifications of candidates under Assistant Bar Bender and Steel Fixer, Assistant Shuttering Carpenter and Assistant Mason. Over 2.81 million candidates have been enrolled under the project so far.
The marker of the RPL programme success is not numbers alone, it is the tireless efforts of the implementing agencies and the partner organisations that has brought such good results.
Global investors are viewing India as a business destination. Strong fundamentals have given our economy the right push to create a stable business environment; and market-oriented reforms and initiatives like Make in India, Digital India, Mudra Yojana, Atal Innovation Mission, 59-minute loan, Stand-up India and Start-Up India are encouraging entrepreneurship among Indians. Bilateral meetings have been organised at regular intervals between officials of MSDE and their counterparts in countries like Singapore, the UAE, Japan, Canada and Australia to boost capacity for skilled workforce in the country.
MSDE and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) also launched India’s first National Skills Competition- IndiaSkills, a biennial competition.
This year, IndiaSkills 2020 will provide a platform for skilled and talented Indian youth to showcase their abilities at regional and national level competitions in over 50 skills. Regional legs of the competitions are organized across four zones, culminating at the national competition in Delhi.
Winners of India Skills will then get a chance to represent the country at the WorldSkills International Competition to be held in China in 2021.
WorldSkills International Kazan was held in 2019 and the 22 winners of India Skills 2018 and their experts had represented the country with their outstanding performance at this global platform also known as the Olympics of skills.
India won one gold, one silver, two bronze and 15 Medallions of Excellence. India was ranked 13th among 63 countries that participated in the competition, making it the best finish for the country in the coveted skill championship. They were felicitated with certificates and cash prizes for their remarkable performance.

Way forward:

Comprehensive reforms have come into play to build awareness around skilling and we are witnessing a mind shift onwards vocational training. It is my faith that as facilitators , we will be able to bring together the industry and youth to assure them with a future led by a robust skilling framework.
The roadmap to making India the ‘Skill Capital of the World’ is fast becoming fruition reality. We have pledged to provide constant support to the youth of our nation who are joining the movement for building a “Kushal Bharat, Kaushal Bharat”.