Modi govt trying to ensure respect, aspirational value for skilled manpower: Rudy

NSSO data says a mere 4.5% of India's workforce is skilled, while 55% in US, 68% in UK, Japan's 80% and 96% of South Korea's workforce is skilled

In an effort to instill a sense of respect and aspiration in the society towards skilled manpower, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is planning a national convocation where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will distribute degrees and certificates to young men and women who have passed with distinction courses like nursing, drilling, welding, carpentry and other such trades.

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Annual Session 2016, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy today said the intent was to create aspirational value to imparting and learning of skills. "You would see these young men and women in gowns and academic regalia being given certificates by the PM. We want to make skilling more aspirational," Rudy said, pointing out how the PM created a separate ministerial portfolio for skill development instead of it being a department in the Labour ministry.

The minister said that according to the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data a mere 4.5 per cent of India's workforce is identified as skilled. "Compare this with 55 per cent in the US, 68 per cent in the UK, Japan's 80 per cent and 96 per cent of South Korea's workforce is skilled," Rudy said. He said this was because the Indian society had a bias against being "skilled" and in favour of being "educated".

The Minister said it was time that the industry in India recognized that it had to lead the way in training manpower, while the government will play the role of an enabler. Rudy said that of the over 6,000 blocks in the country as many as 2,500 had no Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). He said that while Kota in Rajasthan had 300 ITIs, in the tribal district of Palamau in Jharkhand, a district affected by Left Wing Extremism, there is only one ITI.

"My job is to make the industry a partner in training of manpower. The government is not looking for money, we want industry's partnership. Do pitch in, we will provide you a red carpet" Rudy said during a session also addressed by Shobhana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals, and by Genpact's Pramod Bhasin, who is currently chairman of CII's national committee on skill development.

Rudy said the country had 13,000 ITIs which produce 1.3 million youth trained in 11 trades. He said according to one data there were 300 million Indians who need skilled training. The Minister said it requires Rs 20,000 to train each such person, and the total amount required over the next five years to train all of them is Rs 6 lakh crore, or approximately Rs 1 lakh crore a year. "My ministry has a measly Rs 1,700 crore," Rudy said, underlining the need for the industry to lead the way.

The minister said there was enormous demand for trained manpower. He said in the next five years the construction sector would need 30 million trained hands, while the retail sector was in the need of 17 million trained people. Every year there was requirement of nearly two million trained commercial and non-commercial drivers, Rudy said. He said 500 driver training institutes with modern simulators will be set up across India in the next six months.