· To increase capacity for skill development through MSTIs at the rural level
· Impetus on manufacturing to create makers for Make in India
· Centre secured support from World Bank to upgrade ITIs
· Capacity building and job linkages at State Level
March 08 2016, 16.37 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
Delhi, March 8, 2016: Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs, today announced that more than 50% of his skill budget will be focused towards focusing on job roles related to rural area.
While spelling out his ministry’s achievements, he stated that 18 lakh youth have already enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) over the last 8 months which reflects the relevance for skills that his ministry and partner have been able to set for the country’s youth.
“We had conducted 410 kaushal melas across 29 states reaching out to many of those who needed a direction with regard to employability and employment,” the Minister added.
To further ensure increase in capacity and scope of skill development, the Ministry of Skill Development will be also ensuring creation of 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes (MSTIs) which will basically be the new generation ITIs set up in PPP mode. So far there have just been had standalone government or private ITIs. These will be set up in those 2500 blocks and districts of the country which are yet to focus on skill development and do not have ITIs.
The Hon’ble Minister stated that, “Budget 2016 seems promising for India’s youth – whether it is about quality of education, focus on skill development, improving teaching and research outcomes, emphasis on job creation, creating an ease of doing business or promoting entrepreneurship.”
“We should not look at the budget only from the direct facilitations point of view such as tax relaxations especially at a time when we have to maintain the fiscal deficit at 3.5%. Instead, it is clear that the Government’s focus is to strengthen the economy through indirect methods such as infrastructural development, healthcare, focusing on job creation, skill development, and micro small and medium enterprises,” he said.
Shri Rudy said that the budget aims towards bringing parity across all sections for an overall economic growth of the individual and the country. There is a clear effort to strengthen the economy through substantial investment in infrastructural development, rural India, roads and connectivity, job creation, skill development, and micro small and medium enterprises.
With the implementation of common norms with effect from April 1, 2016, there will be more synergies that will be seen across ministries, departments and states on skill development following one norm, one common outcome and tracking mechanism.
The government has also partnered with World Bank to upgrade industrial training in the country not only by extending monetary support but also ensuring best practices being implemented. Skill Training for Employability Leveraging Public Private Partnership (STELPPP) with the proposed assistance of USD One billion from World Bank and Skill Training for Industries Value Enhancement (STRIVE) with an estimated cost of USD 537.50 million.
The formation of the National Skill Certification Board is also another big step in further strengthening the skill ecosystem. It will see representation from both government and industry, which will collectively enable a joint framework for quality skill assessment.
Shri Rudy also stated that “We will work to deliver Entrepreneurship, Education and training in 2200 colleges, 300 schools, 500 government ITIs and 50 Vocational Training Centres. Aspiring entrepreneurs will be connected to mentors and credit markets.”
Key Achievements 2015-2016: Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
The huge mismatch between education, employability and employment has been staring in the face of the country since the last 40 years now.
The country had more than 70 odd programs on skill development being run across 29 states through 21 different ministries. Each one had their own norms and outcomes and tracking mechanism. The multiplicity of these initiatives had diffused the impact that Skill Development could have had for the youth of India. There was no rationalisation of the process and system and the training were never outcome focused. There was limited emphasis on mapping of the skilled workforce that was required across sectors.
Therehave beenno focused efforts towards streamlining entities working in the skill ecosystem. The country stood on the global map with the maximum number of people in the employable age-group (population between 15-60 years); waiting for some synergies to happen.
The first and foremost step that the current incumbent government took in shaping the skills landscape was the creation of a separate Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship which in the last one year has invested heavily, on restructuring and re-energising the skill ecosystem in the country. It has made some significant efforts in ensuring coordination and convergence across all initiatives and schemes that were active in the skill ecosystem.
The year 2014 saw the launch of Skill India, lead by the newly created Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), to leverage the potential of India’s aspiring youth by equipping them with the skills required to acquire sustainable livelihoods. In just 15 months MSDE has made great strides in streamlining and reinvigorating India’s skilling ecosystem. MSDE’s journey and its key achievements to date are detailed below.
I. The birth of India’s first Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
India’s challenge is immense. 54% of India’s population is below 25 years of age and over 62% of the population is the working-age group. Over 109 million incremental human resources will be required in India alone, across 24 key sectors by the year 2022. Yet, only 4.69% of the Indian population has undergone formal skills training.The lack of coordinated action dedicated to addressing the above challenges, has left India far behind, with India’s demographic dividend on the verge of transforming into a demographic nightmare.
The newly elected government created India’s first Department of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in July 2014 under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, to rapidly address the above challenges. This Department became the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in November 2014 with Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy inducted as Minister. MSDE’s was given the mandate of leading India’s skill development and entrepreneurship agenda, at speed and scale, while ensuring quality outcomes. Though this step was taken 68 years too late, MSDE has made excellent progress in just 15months.
II. Key Challenges: Cementing a Fractured Ecosystem
In November 2014, India’s skilling ecosystem was highly fragmented.21 Central government Ministries and departments were implementing over 50 skill training programmes, operating in silos. Conflicting norms between schemes, poor monitoring mechanisms, varying assessment and certification systems and the absence of a coherent vision of success, limited the effectiveness of these initiatives. Further, the government vocational training ecosystem, led by the Directorate of Training (DGT) under the Ministry of Labour was entirely divorced from the private skill training ecosystem system created by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). Entrepreneurship and vocational training were separated from each other. Therefore, MSDE, as the lead Ministry for skill training and entrepreneurship and was tasked with coordinating, steering and ensuring coherence within this fractured ecosystem.
MSDE’s first step was to connect the different elements of the ecosystem together.Two verticals from DGT (Training and Apprenticeship), were transferred to MSDE in April 2015. Further, two major Entrepreneurship Development Institutes, were also shifted under MSDE, from the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises.
With the bulk of Skill training and Entrepreneurship efforts now firmly under its ambit, MSDE made three crucial policy interventions, focussed on articulating an overarching vision for skill development in India, and ensure coordination, coherence and consistency of all skill training efforts across the country.
III. Policy Interventions: A Clear Policy Framework for Skilling Established for the first time in India
• India’s First National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 created to rejuvenate India’s skill ecosystem: The Policy articulates an overarching framework for skilling at scale and speed while ensuring high quality outcomes.
• India’s first National Skill Development Mission launched in July 2015 to coordinate and Scale up Skilling Efforts. The Mission seeks to converge, coordinate, implement and monitor skilling activities on a pan-India basis.
• Common Norms for skill development schemes across India notified to ensure standardisation: In November 2014, there were 52 programs running across different Ministries, each of which had their own training norms and standards. To ensure standardisation and consistency in the structure of skill training initiatives across India, Common Norms forall skill development programmes across Central Ministries/Departments were notified on 15 July 2015, after extensive Inter-Ministerial Consultations
• Operationalisation of National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) in progress:The NSQFwas created to ensure consistency in measuring the outcomes of skill training. Over 1461qualifications from both the NSDC and ITI ecosystems have been already been aligned to NSQF.By December 2016, all government skill training programmes will be NSQF aligned.
These three initiativeswere formally launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 15 July 2015, on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day. India now has a robust policy framework for skilling and entrepreneurship, for the very first time.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15u2AQE0CM0
MSDE’s took its mandate as the nodal agency for skill training, a step forward by translating its policy framework into a coherent programme of action, to deliver results on the ground. These are detailed below.
IV. Programme Interventions: Implementing a Coherent Programme of Action to catalyse Skilling Across India:
MSDE’s programme interventions are guided by the principles of Speed, Scale and Quality – which have been addressed simultaneously in each of the initiatives mentioned below.
• MSDE’s Flagship Scheme Pradhan MantriKaushalVikasYojana (PMKVY) launched, Over 18 lakh youth enrolled to date: PMKVY, an outcome-focused, rewards based scheme seeks to provide fresh training to 14 lakh youth and train 10 lakh through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). More than 18 lakh youth have been enrolled in fresh training programmes, of which over 10 lakh have completed training.
• Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) Ecosystem Revitalised: Some of the key achievements include:
o 1,141 new ITIs with 1.73 lakh seats have been added in past one year.
o 15,000 instructors have been trained by Central Institutes of Directorate General of Training (DGT).
o Distance learning infrastructure created and over 18000 trainers trained.
o Capacity Building training of Government ITI Principals conducted at various
o Monitoring Mechanisms Strengthened through Web-based MIS Portal hosted at www.ncvtmis.gov.in - a one-stop information source for all Government as well as Private Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)..
• Private Skill Training Ecosystem Catalysed through National Skill Development Corporation:NSDC partners have skilled 27.80 lakh people and placed around 12 lakh people through its ecosystem in the last one year. NSDC funded partners have trained over 65.46 lakh students, till date.
• Entrepreneurship Initiatives Scaled up: National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) has already covered 2,00,885 trainees.
• Making Skills Aspirational through Participation in World Skills Competitions:India participated inThe World Skills Competition (held in in Sao Paulo, Brazil in August 2015) - the Olympics of Skills and came out with flying colours, winning 8 medallions of excellence in Beauty Therapy, Welding, Graphic Design Technology, Prototype Modelling, Jewellery Design, Plastic Die Engineering. .
• Apprenticeship Training scaled up through the modification of the Apprenticeship Act in December 2014. As far back as 1975, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had made changing the legal regime for apprenticeship a public policy priority in her 20-point programme for governance. But for 40 years, the law that required every employer to have apprentices and prescribes stiff penalties including jail terms for those who violate its tenets, had remained unchanged.
• Comprehensive amendments to Apprentices Act 1961 made with effect from 22nd December 2014. Act has been made more responsive to industry and youth. Employers can now engage up to 10% of its total workforce as apprentices. The number of apprentices in the country has increased from 2.70 lakh to 3.10 lakh in the past one year.
"China has two crore people working as apprentices… one crore in Japan… but only 30 lakh in India. Disappointing! The CSR [corporate social responsibility] should involve training the apprentices… So many people need jobs… We have to start from somewhere. I want industrialists to hire more apprentices. Never mind if your profit margins fall. It is your social responsibility," Hon’ble PM Modi said.
V. Achieving Scale and Quality: An Agenda for the Way Forward
• Scaling Up: Some of the proposed initiatives to scale up existing skill training initiatives include:
o 7000 new it is to be opened in the next one year
o Two new Apprentice Training Institutes for Womento be set up in Haryana and Uttarakhand.
o 27 new Advanced Training Institutes (ATI) under PPP mode set up for Training of Trainers throughout the country.
o 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes (MSTIs) to be established with active participation of Industries/Private partners
o Model Skill Centresto be established in every district of India, to provide access to high quality, aspirational skill training opportunities for short-term courses across the country.
o Two new World Bank Projects have been approved to scale up skill development in the country. This includes the Skills Strengthening For Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) project to revitalize the ITI ecosystem and Skill Training for Employability leveraging Public Private Partnership (STEPPP), which will be implemented in mission mode through World Bank support to achieve the objectives laid down in the National Skill Development Mission (NSDM).
• Enhancing Quality and Ensuring Consistency
o A National Board for Skills Assessment and Certificationwill be established to ensure quality and consistency of skill training qualifications. The Board will combine industry-led SSC certification processes and government authorized NCVT certification and will act as a one stop shop for examinations, assessments and awarding national level certificates in compliance with NSQF, for skill development courses in the country.
In its first year, MSDE has dynamically consolidated the skill ecosystem and made important strides towards revitalizing India’s skill training ecosystem.
MSDE Budget Highlights 2016-2017
The budget for skill development is highly encouraging for us.
As announced, we will be creating 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes (MSTIs) which will basically be the new generation ITIs set up in PPP mode. So far we have just had standalone government or private ITIs. These will be set up in those blocks and districts of the country which are yet to focus on skill development.
The scheme to set up 1,500 MSTIs in PPP mode in unserved blocks of the country has been sent to the EFC for approval. The scheme envisages that access to long-term skill training opportunities is available to all individuals in the country through high quality, government supported Industrial Training Institutes in all unserved blocks of the country. Currently, there are over 2,500 unserved blocks in India. The PPP element of the scheme will ensure that there is buy-in from the private training partner in addition the government grant in-aid.
We are also certain and committed to achieve our target of skilling 1 crore youth over the next 3 years under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). In line with this, we are already setting up model skill centres across more than 500 districts in the country.
The new phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) will be implemented through adequate scaling up, both in terms of sectors and geography, such that the it will function as the signature scheme of Central Government for skill development across the country. High quality training centres present across the country, will be utilised for running the programme. It is envisaged that the revised scheme guidelines will ensure robust monitoring and centre validation through third party agencies, create additional provisions for North East and LWE affected areas, and involve State governments in implementation.
The formation of the National Skill Certification Board is another big step in further strengthening the skill ecosystem. It will see representation from both government and industry, which will collectively enable a joint framework for quality skill assessment.
Assessment processes in the country so far have been highly fragmented and varied. The National Board for Skill Certification will act as a one stop shop for examinations, assessments and awarding national level certificates in compliance with National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) for skill development courses in the country. Thus, it is envisaged that the Board will be an autonomous organisation with the mandate of ensuring that the skills assessment ecosystem in the country is maintained at a high standard.
The focus of the budget on creation of jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities through initiatives like Start-Up India and others, spells out the clear vision of government, to link the skilled workforce with employment opportunities.
We will work to deliver Entrepreneurship, Education and training in 2200 colleges, 300 schools, 500 government ITIs and 50 Vocational Training Centres. Aspiring entrepreneurs will be connected to mentors and credit markets.
