News: Skill India to increase its focus on AI, IoT and ML

Skilling

Skill India to increase its focus on AI, IoT and ML

The idea is to strengthen Skill India through dedicated policy measures around emerging trends such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT) and machine learning.
Skill India to increase its focus on AI, IoT and ML

To create a workforce that can access new opportunities and to insulate it from technological shocks, the Skill India mission will expand and develop dedicated curriculum across identified sectors.

As per the report by NASSCOM, around 40 percent of the total workforce in India has to be reskilled in over next five years to cope with emerging trends such as AI, IoT, machine learning and blockchain. Realizing this need to reskill, government's priority will be developing more initiatives to boost reskilling in these areas.

"There will be a renewed focus on reskilling," exclaimed a government official, as per the report.

“We would like to ensure that individuals have access to economic opportunities by remaining competitive in the new world of work and that businesses have access to the talent they need for the jobs of the future,” he added.

While the sectors haven't been revealed yet, there are over half a dozen sectors in which a dedicated curriculum for reskilling will be developed based on demand from these sectors.

Manufacturing, Healthcare, and BFSI are some of the top sectors being disrupted by technological trends such as AI and ML. But let's see which sectors will the government focus on.

In its first phase of the skilling initiative, Skill India had introduced the recognition of prior learning (RPL) program. RPL was launched with an aim to align the competencies of the unregulated workforce with the National Skills Qualification Framework.

Till now over 1.5 million youths have been certified under RPL from 2016 onwards and the target is to certify 4 million by 2020. Only time will tell if the initiative will reach its overarching target.

Till then the Skill India has to continue to improvise its existing programs and has to introduce new programs to catch on the trends rapidly emerging in the economy. Only then shall the government get close to solving the Skilling challenge at the macro level. 

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Topics: Skilling

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