The new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sworn in. While the objectives of the skill development ministry under the government are still being finalised, what needs an immediate revamp is the Skill India mission.
The National Skill Development Mission was approved and launched in July 2015. The aim of the mission was to create convergence across sectors and states in terms of skill training activities.
Further, the National Skill Development Mission was responsible for consolidation and coordination of skilling efforts. The idea was that it would be implemented through a streamlined institutional mechanism driven by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
The initial idea was to skill 500 million people in relevant skills by 2022. However, the ministry later clarified that they would not be chasing any numbers and the output will depend on the demand.
It is an open secret that India is in midst of a skills crisis. Companies across sectors have expressed concerns about the quality of talent passing out of Indian educational institutions and how their skills are not relevant for the workplace.
The first step would be to redraw a list across sectors and identify the skills that the largest recruiters in those sectors are looking for. Once a list of 30-35 skillsets are identified in each sector, job aspirants can also train appropriately for that dream employer.
Having a target to train people is a good start, but the real measure will be how many of the candidates skilled under government schemes get relevant jobs.
More private sector participation in this process would be a welcome change. Rather than the process being a top-down one, making the employers take the decisions would ensure that the skills featured exactly match what the demand in the industry is.
The second step would be to have a coordinated effort with the Ministry of Labour and Employment. This would enable skilled candidates to find relevant jobs in a fixed time period through the employment bureaus and job fairs. Having a formalised process similar to the private job portals would be a good start.
The final step could be to have more trainers to impart relevant skills. Shortage of teachers could be addressed by incentivising them under the skilling initiatives.
India has the demographic dividend. It is time to nurture this manpower strength, train them and utilise these resources for the country's economic development.
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