BackGovt brings training, apprentice divisions under skills ministry
The move brings over 11,000 ITIs and scores of other institutions, and the apprentice and training divisions, under the ministry, empowering it
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New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has moved the training and apprentice divisions of the labour ministry to the skill development and entrepreneurship ministry that was formed in November.
The move brings over 11,000 industrial training institutes (ITIs) and scores of other institutions, and the apprentice and training divisions, under the skills ministry, empowering it.
Nearly a million-and-a-half students pass out of ITIs every year, a critical cog in India’s skills mission. The labour ministry has a target of skill-training 100 million people by 2022, second only to the target for the National Skill Development Corp. (NSDC), which must train 150 million by the same period. The NSDC comes under the skills ministry.
As a result of this decision, which the labour ministry was opposing for months, the skills ministry will not only oversee the skill development activities of all ministries and departments, but actually implement schemes, said at least two government officials.
The cabinet secretariat made the decision in this regard on Thursday, said the first government official with direct knowledge of the development. “All private ITIs, government ITIs, PPP skill schools and other institutions will come to skills ministry. The cabinet secretariat will decide on the budget part in next few days," the person said.
A labour ministry official confirmed the development, adding that the directorate general of employment and training (DGET) will now “lose its charm". From the 1950s, the labour ministry has been running this department and has created tangible infrastructure and trained millions of students for the manufacturing sector, the official said.
“At a time when the labour ministry is revamping the DGET, modernising ITIs, creating an online skills repository, you are taking away the division. Without the training division, DGET will be left with just employment exchanges," said the official, adding among central ministries, labour has done better in skill training for years and was way ahead in 2014-15 too.
According to data collated by the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), part of the skills ministry, 21 departments and ministries were supposed to train 10.5 million people in 2014-15, but only 5.1 million people were trained till 28 February. Among the bigger ministries, the ministry of labour and employment has done relatively better, achieving more than 89% of its 1.62 million-plus annual target.
The first official said that the apprentice division of the DGET too has been transferred, which means the skills ministry will implement the amended Apprentices Act, which allows students to get trained in shop floors and get financial assistance.
“This indicates government is serious about the skill ministry," said Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head, education and skill practice, at consulting company KPMG. “Till date, what the labour ministry has done has not got enough traction and outcome, at times, are questionable. The new ministry will now improve monitoring, consolidate and bring in a single umbrella of rules. But the skills ministry has to keep in mind that they need to collaborate than compete," he added.
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