CII to launch Strategic Manufacturing Skills Council

Industry body CII today said it will soon launch the Strategic Manufacturing Skills Council (SMSC) with the support of Ministry of Skills Development & Entrepreneurship and National Skill Development Corporation.
The SMSC will help develop a trained workforce for defence equipment manufacturing, ship building and repair, homeland security equipment and safety and fire-fighting equipment.
"The Confederation of Indian Industry with the support of the Ministry of Skills Development & Entrepreneurship and the National Skill Development Corporation is promoting the Strategic Manufacturing Skills Council (SMSC)," CII said in a statement.
A highly technical and capital intensive sector, strategic manufacturing is essential for security and self-reliance in critical technologies and products.

Major industry players in both public and private sectors are supporting the Council, including defence public sector undertakings.
"The key private sector players include the Godrej Group, the Mahindra Group, L&T, Bharat Forge, the Tata Group, and others.

"Udayant Malhotra, Managing Director, Dynamatic Technologies, is the Chairman of the proposed Council. The Council also has representatives from the Ministries of Defence and Shipping," CII said.
The strategic manufacturing sector provides employment to about 12 lakh people and is expected to employ over 30 lakh in the next ten years.
India will need approximately 18 lakh technologically highly-skilled, skilled and semi-skilled workers for the sector over the next decade.

The SMSC will train and certify 1.5 lakh persons over a period of 10 years, covering 50 job roles from level 1 to 5, as also certify 200 training institute and 3,320 trainers.
Availability of engineers and skilled personnel is among the biggest challenges for the strategic manufacturing sector as more products are manufacturing under the Make in India and Offset Policy.
"The sector requires high precision levels and the current training infrastructure is inadequate. There is an urgent need to identify the gaps, assess the demand of various skill sets and build a skilled workforce for which all the stakeholders need to work collectively," CII said.

The SMSC will create a dynamic Labour Market Information System (LMIS) to keep track of the labour market, identify skill gaps, frame occupational standards, ensure adequate availability of faculty, build accreditation and certification mechanisms and encourage capacity building through private sector participation.