For Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan and Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan to become successful, skilling, up-skilling, and re-skilling of the country’s workforce will play a crucial role. There is a need to focus on employment in the current situation and that’s why the government will focus on demand-based skilling in the next phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), said Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The government is soon to get approval on the next phase of PMKVY, which will have increased focus on demand-driven skill development, digital technology, and skills pertaining to Industry 4.0, said a statement by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Earlier, PM Modi launched ‘Skill India’ campaign in July 2015, which aimed to train over 40 crore people in different skills in India by 2022.
In an effort to enhance the job opportunities in far-flung areas of the country, the government also urged industries to expand operations from big cities to small districts and villages, and invest in upskilling and re-skilling the youth across rural India. Further, the Ministry has invited the private sector to come forward and impart training and focus on being vocal for local products and services, and empowering youth to drive local economic growth.
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While the coronavirus pandemic brought a rough phase for the migrant labourers of the country, the Skill Development Minister appealed to the industry to be more compassionate towards the migrant labour, do their counselling, treat them respectfully, and facilitate those who intend to return and get back to work.
Role of apprenticeship in economic development
Even as various reports suggest that the labour participation rate has rebounded to the pre-corona levels, the workforce shortage is still a major concern among industries. To ensure a sufficient workforce in the industry, the government revealed its plan to simplify the apprenticeship, which is the on-the-job model of skill training. “Organisations are facing workforce crunch primarily due to migration of labour and also due to being scared of getting infected. In order to overcome these challenges, employers are hiring apprentices,” Sumit Kumar, Vice-President, National Employability through Apprenticeship Program, TeamLease, told Financial Express Online.
People are hiring fresh pass out, upskilling them to become productive; and also exploring possibilities of hiring people who have lost jobs, reskilling them for new job roles. Sumit Kumar added. At the moment, organisations under pharma, FMCG, automotive, electrical and electronics are hiring apprentices in the manufacturing sector; and e-commerce, Fintech, retail sectors are hiring apprentices under the services sector to address the manpower needs, he further said.
