The Plan for Skill Development in India’s Youth

“ICT is the key enabler of the Labour Market Information System (LMIS), which is the national database on all the major areas of skill development. It is being created in partnership with all other Ministries in the Government of India and the State Governments,” says Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister of State, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India. In conversation with Ankush Kumar

Edited Excerpts:

The Government of India has been giving lot of importance to skill development of the youth in the country. In what ways is the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship contributing in the achievement of this vision?

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship came into existence on 9th November, 2014, along with my induction in the Union Cabinet. Before that there was no separate ministry for this sector. The creation of this ministry signifies the importance that this government is prepared to give to skill development in the country’s youth. Under the new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the government is making an attempt to coordinate all the skill development efforts in the country. The ministry aims to make the broad policies for skill development and market requirements, match the demand and supply of the skilled workforce. We intend to build an institutional framework in the sector for more formalised ways of imparting skill training, and also establish private partnerships to create linkages between industry and institutes. As far as entrepreneurship is concerned, the ministry aims to foster entrepreneurship education among youth through formal partnerships with educational institutions, business communities, mentorship networks, incubation centers and successful entrepreneurs. The Ministry will also focus on promoting entrepreneurship in the field of science and technology. Ultimately all the above mentioned objectives converge to make India the skill capital of the world.

Tell us about the key achievements of your ministry since its inception in November 2015?

We have taken major initiatives to ensure that the systems for skill development and entrepreneurship are easily available to the youth in all parts of our country. We have launched the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015. We have initiated the National Skill Development Mission, which is being chaired by the Prime Minister. We have initiated the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, which has the target of training 24 Lakh youth within the next year. Recently on the World Youth Skills Day, we started the Skill Loan Scheme. We are working with a target of providing skill training to 40.2 crore people by 2022.

Please share with us the roadmap by which the skill related training can be provided to 40.2 crore people by 2022?

We are developing partnerships with several other ministries and departments in the Government of India, and also with the private organisations and international institutions. Our partnerships with various ministries allows us to use their spare infrastructure for conducting skill related training. For instance, in railways we have access to thousands of stations, where lot of infrastructure is already there. We can use this infrastructure for giving hands-on training to the youth. Also, the cabinet has approved the common norms for skill development schemes. Now more than 70 central programmes will have uniform norms, ranging from course duration to cost and eligibility. The Ministry’s flagship scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), has been launched. We believe that initiatives that we are taking now will enable the youth of the country to develop skills that are needed by our industry. According to the report from National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the employment opportunities in India will increase from 461.1 million in 2013 to 581.9 million in 2022. This means that in order to achieve the vision of Make in India programme, we have to first ensure that the objectives of Skill India are achieved.

Large number of jobless youth from smaller towns and rural areas are now migrating to the larger cities in search for jobs. How are you planning to boost entrepreneurship among the country’s youths?

We are focused on developing a culture for entrepreneurship in the country. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has given its approval for India’s first integrated National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015. The policy acknowledges the need for an effective roadmap for the promotion of entrepreneurship as the key to a successful skills strategy. The vision of the policy is “to create an ecosystem of empowerment by developing skill 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 livelihoods for all citizens in the country”. Under this policy the government will try to educate and equip potential entrepreneurs, both within and outside the formal education system.

Information Technology, and basically the websites on Internet, including the social media, are now full of resources for developing skills. In what ways is the ministry planning to use online mediums for the benefit of the youth?

We are giving lot of importance to the Internet and social media space for reaching out to the youth and generating awareness about skill development. We are also using the Information Technology solutions within the ministry. ICT is the key enabler of the Labour Market Information System (LMIS), which is the national database on all major aspects of skill development, and is being created in partnership with all other ministries of the Government of India and the State Governments. The LMIS will be a one-stop shop in which all the relevant information will be freely available to the citizens. The government has created a National Steering Committee for setting up the Labour Market Information System (LMIS). The LMIS will bring in operational efficiencies, it will be transparent and available to all, and will help reduce considerably the situation of one individual being benefited under different schemes. We have also set up the Skill Development Management System (SDMS), which has 1400 training partners, 28179 training centres, 16479 trainers, 20 job portals, 77 assessment agencies and 4983 empaneled assessors.