BackSkill development: Govt wants industry to play a bigger role
Firms such as Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, JSW Steel Ltd, to attend interaction with govt, says skills minister
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Ahead of a planned interaction with industry representatives in Mumbai on Tuesday, the government said on Sunday that it expects a bigger role for businesses in guiding, training and raising funds for initiatives in skill development.
“The basic premise of the skill development mission is to provide job-ready human resource to industry. But that linkage has not happened yet. The ecosystem needs to change," skill development minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said in an interview.
“Industry’s role in all aspects of skill training is important and we shall host leading industries and industry leaders in Mumbai for the first time and thus make it a ritual to directly engage with them," Rudy said.
Skill development is key to productivity, growth and reaping the demographic dividend in a country where over 60% of the people are under 35 years old.
Rudy said executives from Tata Group, Reliance Industries Ltd, Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel, JSW Steel Ltd, GVK Power & Infrastructure, GMR Group and Essar Group will attend the conclave.
Addressing the gathering and taking questions from the industry will be urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu, minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, transport minister Nitin Gadkari, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
According to Rudy, in the past few years, industry connect was “not happening".
“The plan now is how industry will partner with skill development, contribute via CSR (corporate social responsibility), have own skilling programmes etc. We are going to handhold them—the ecosystem will change," Rudy said.
As per government estimates, 34 million trained people are required in construction, 16 million in retail and four million in hospitality in the next five-six years. Rudy said his ministry’s role is to achieve those targets in collaboration with industry -- not just as a partner to train but as equal partners in all aspects, from funding to job linkages.
An official in the ministry said that this lack of connect with industry was the key reason the National Skill Development Corp. (NSDC) leadership was reshuffled. “You cannot be simply a freelance loan provider for skill training," said the official, who declined to be named. The chief executive officer and chief operating officer of NSDC resigned in early October, Mint reported on 10 October.
A “western model of skill training" will not help India, the minister said. “We have to think from our domestic demand side...from our own industry side and from the socio-economic realities of our society. Lower strata are a key focus area because you have to make them job-ready and improve their lives and livelihood," Rudy explained.
The minister said the government will discuss how these companies can channelize a portion of their CSR money for skill development projects. Indian companies spent about Rs. 6,400 crore on CSR in 2014-15, the first year for a new law mandating such spend by companies with net worth above Rs.500 crore. In 2014-15, Reliance Industries Ltd spent Rs.761 crore, the most by an Indian company, followed by state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd at Rs.495.2 crore, Mint reported on 24 September.
The skills ministry has already outlined some 6,700 qualifications and 1,500 job roles. This will be communicated to the industry to deploy them effectively in a work environment, Rudy said. He said the prime minister is focusing on skill development.
“Twelve years of education is important, but it may not give jobs. Twelve weeks of skill training will make you employable. The ministry’s concept of skill is – mobilization, training under curriculum, assessment, certification and final linkage to jobs or entrepreneurship. We are almost reaching there," Rudy added.
Understanding the pain points of industry and supplying people as per demand is key to India’s skill mission, said Gayathri Vasudevan, chief executive of LabourNet services, a skill training company. “Industry also needs to understand that only complaining will not help, they have to step in to fill the gap – in funding, training, and giving jobs," she added.
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