National Skill Plan to be ready by March next year

Having accorded top priority to skill development, the government now aims to impart skills to around 40 crore people by 2022 for which it will formulate a national plan by March next year.

According to government sources, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship plans to activate and strengthen state Skill Development Missions and forge industry linkages with special focus on promoting apprenticeship and leveraging Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Sources said as part of its endeavour to promote skill development and take it to the grassroots, the Ministry intends to promote international linkages and collaborations.

The Ministry wants to set up multi-skill iconic training centres as model skill centres in every district of the country through soft loan support provided by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

At present, a huge gap exists between the demand and supply for skilled manpower, with industry facing a shortage even as skilled people are not getting adequate employment opportunities.

"The Ministry aims to skill around 40 crore people by 2022. It also plans to formulate a National Skill Plan by March 2017 with focus on flagship programmes and key growth areas," said a top government official.

"According to estimates by the Ministry, there is an additional skilled manpower requirement of 12.68 crore by 2022 and going according to current trends only about 6.9 crore individuals can be trained," sources said.

The Skill Development Ministry will also require additional thousands of crores of rupees to bridge the gap over the next few years, some of which would be provided by the Centre and the state governments.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accorded top priority to skilling and set up a separate Ministry for Skill Development on November 9, 2014. He has entrusted the task to Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who earlier held the Civil Aviation portfolio.

The Modi government hopes to find favour with the large constituency of unemployed youth through the initiative.