Over the past couple of years, the Government of India has come up with various initiatives like the ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’, and ‘Skill India’ campaign – with a singular aim to solve major challenges which could hinder the progress of our country. Although all three hold equal importance and are co-related, the ‘Skill India’ Mission has come across as most vital since its vision is to upskill the citizen of India to create a skilled workforce that can positively impact the nation’s growth.
Since its launch last July, this mission has garnered lots of support from various industries and initiators – Government or otherwise, who have come forward to address the issue of Skills gap in the country, and are doing their bit to fill that void with a trained and certified labor force. However, there are various aspects to this mission that need proper consideration in order to maintain its successful implementation.
Upskilling more than 40 crore individuals in multifarious fields by the year 2022 can seem like an achievable task on paper, but it is actually far from it. Undertakings of such magnitude need constant deliberation and have to be improvised at each step to counter every challenge on its path to success. Furthermore, it is predicted that the government may have to devote more than INR 8 Lakh Crore to this mission gradually over the next 8 years in order to accomplish this task.
However, things have begun to look promising on this front ever since the Budget for 2016 was announced, with the Ministry of Finance allocating over 1000 Crore for this mission. Additionally, the ministry has also announced some provisions for initiatives under this scheme – INR 1700 Crore have been set aside for skilling institutions under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY scheme). The main objective of this funding is to support development of infrastructure in this field which can help skill more than 1 Crore youth within the next 3 years.
India currently holds the distinction for being one of the youngest nations in the world, i.e. largest youth demography. According to a report by The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, over 54% of India’s total population is below 25 years of age, and over 62% of the population comes under the working age group (15-59 years). It also predicts that our country’s population pyramid is expected to swell across the stated working age over the next decade. However, this is projected to last only till the year 2040. Thus, it has now become a matter of extreme importance for India to utilize its demographic dividend and overcome the Skills gap within a limited timeline.
Over the past couple of months, we have witnessed that ‘Skill India’, in general, has been talked about on numerous occasions, specifically on how this mission can achieve its target. Most people now have a general idea on the extent of this initiative and how it has helped thousands of individuals to become job-ready professionals with proper training. Now, we are going to explore how this comprehensive pan India movement can play an integral part in reforming the future of our country.
- Increase in Rate of Employment: So far, the Job market in India was mostly comprised of candidates who, despite being well educated, lost out on several opportunities because they may have lacked the skills required for a specific job profile. With the ‘Skill India’ initiative, individuals can get appropriate training across various fields from designated skill development institutions, and become job-ready prior to venturing into professional realm.
- Increase in Productivity: Through Skill development, individuals will be able to gradually improve their productivity with proper guidance, which can further maximize their efficiency. Since the mission aims to create a skilled workforce – this factor can greatly improve the situation of India’s labor force and help in accelerating the growth of our country manifold.
- Enable the youth to get Blue-collar Jobs: The PMKVY scheme under ‘Skill India’ Mission can enable the youth to get several blue-collar jobs since those who undergo training under this initiative receive an official certificate upon successful completion of the same. This can validate their training and also help them get access to better job prospects.
- Skill development at primary & secondary education level: The ‘Skill India’ mission encourages and promotes skill development at school level in order to further bridge the skills gap. Doing so can help create job-ready individuals in the near future – enabling them to embark on their professional journey without any hurdles on their way.
- Improve employment scenario within rural demography: Since the problem of skills gap is mostly prevalent within the rural population of India, it has become extremely important to upskill this section and recognize their skills in order to improve their employability. With ‘Skill India’, many individuals from rural regions have been able to secure well-paying jobs after undergoing training in various programmes, and/or further honing skills which they may have acquired at some point in their life. If this trend continues, the rural demography will be able to significantly contribute its share in furthering the development of India to greater extent.
Although it may seem like a difficult task to achieve, the aforementioned facts can surely restore the faith of people within the system as well as for this mission. Therefore, we can say that these factors can certainly help ‘Skill India’ in revolutionizing the future of India – creating a workforce that can overcome any challenges, and contribute significantly to the nation’s economy.