318,000 youths placed in jobs, self-employment: skill ministry
2 min read 21 Feb 2018, 01:54 AM ISTthe 52% placement record including self-employment and entrepreneurship is way below the mandatory placement requirement of 70% under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana-2 (PMKVY-2)
Premium
New Delhi: The Union skill development ministry on Tuesday said it had placed around 318,000 youth in jobs or self-employment over the last 17 months, but the number fell short of its 70% placement target under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana-2 (PMKVY-2).
The ministry said it had certified 612,000 candidates who completed training under the PMKVY-2 and 52% of them had been placed. PMKVY-2 aims to spend Rs12,000 crore on skill training 10 million youth between 2016 and 2020.
Placement, according to the skills ministry, includes jobs, self-employment and entrepreneurship.
“As of today, we have placed some 318,000 certified skill trained youth via our training partners," said Rajesh Aggarwal, a joint secretary and chief vigilance officer in the skills ministry.
However, the 52% placement record including self-employment and entrepreneurship is way below the mandatory placement requirement of 70% under PMKVY-2. The target to place 70% of those certified is a minimum requirement under the scheme and not finding placement for students entails financial penalty for the skill training providers.
“We are tracking placement for 90 days before paying the full amount to a training provider," said Aggarwal, adding that this 52% placement record though is a good number, but they are “pushing training partners" to achieve the 70% target. “Not that all are lagging but yes, some partners are lagging, pulling back the average number," he added.
In India, about 12 million people enter the labour market every year. Jobs, a nagging issue for the central government over the last few years, has become a key political theme with the general elections due in 2019.
India’s jobs problem has also attracted international attention. Both the World Bank and the International Labour Organization have flagged the need for quality salaried jobs in the country. India needs to create regular, salaried jobs with growing earnings rather than self-employed ones in order to join the ranks of the global middle class by 2047—the centenary of its Independence, the World Bank said in a draft Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) for India, Mint reported on 14 February.
Of those ‘placed’, around 76% are in wage employment and 24% in self-employment/entrepreneurship, the ministry said in a separate statement.
The labour bureau’s latest data shows that the eight key sectors including manufacturing, transport, construction, trade and transport added 64,000 new jobs in the April-June 2017 period, over the previous quarter, a three-quarter low.
The manufacturing sector recorded negative job growth of 87,000 during April-June 2017 over the previous quarter.
"Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels 🚀 Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights!" Click here!
