Latest intervention by the Government of India to encourage Public Sector participation in skill and vocational training may prove instrumental in the success of Skill India Mission. Such an ambitious scheme not only requires huge financial investments but a great deal of awareness within the industry to understand and willingly contribute towards the skill development of the youth. In this Skill Talk, Rajiv Sharma, Founder and Managing Director, Empower Pragati shares his perspective about how it could be a win-win strategy for PSUs and NSDC.
The recent announcement that NALCO will be devoting 50 Cr towards skill development and entrepreneurship till 2020 is a great news for the ecosystem. Training Providers like ourselves welcome this move by the Government of India with open arms. This intervention by the government may prove instrumental in the success of Skill India Mission. Such an ambitious scheme not only requires huge financial investments but a great deal of awareness within the industry to understand and willingly contribute towards the skill development of the youth.
About 60% of the Indian GDP depends on the service sector, indicating a great scope of job availability in the market. However, the complexity of the problem lies in the fact that majority of our youth are unable to match the eligibility for such available jobs. This gap can be bridged by skilling and up-skilling of the young population. By training in life skills, personality development, English proficiency in addition to providing domain expertise, we will push our youth towards the global job market. Efforts by all stakeholders are critical to make this happen. Public sector is doing their bit by coming together with NSDC.
To many, it may seem like a desperate move by the government to rope in PSUs for their flagship scheme. But it is indeed a strategic step and is bound to benefit the ecosystem.
Win for Public Sector Units (PSUs)
By way of partnering with NSDC, PSUs will be able to channelize their funds in a regulated and systematized manner. Otherwise, doing so can be quite cumbersome given the number of ongoing schemes, variety of courses being offered and presence of multiple implementation partners. By associating with NSDC, PSUs can work with private training partners whose extensive due-diligence has already been undertaken. This would ensure quality delivery of training and smooth execution of the project, to take advantage of the experience NSDC has gained thus far. Above all, this would ensure judicious use of funds and will help lacs of youngsters reap its benefit. NSDC is known for its transparency, efficiency and corruption- free approach which will safeguard optimum results.
Win for NSDC
Being able to raise money from the public sector after numerous unsuccessful attempts with the private sector is surely galvanising for NSDC. Having more than 300 training partners and more than 35 Sector Skill Councils, NSDC has built the skilling ecosystem and fuelled the Skill India Mission. With participation for PSUs like NALCO, NHPC, NTPC, Powergrid, Indian Oil etc; the fraternity is likely to grow which is vital for the overall success of the scheme. NSDC has yet again proved its relevance by establishing itself as a single-point-of-contact for both the government and the public sector when it comes to investing and forging skill development and entrepreneurship projects.
About the author: Rajiv Sharma, Founder and Managing Director, Empower Pragati. He can be reached at: rajiv.sharma@empower.net.in
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