National Council of Applied Economic Research(NCAER) launched a research programme named “New Skills at Work India (NSAWI)” on Tuesday. The inaugural research initiative has been launched in partnership with JP Morgan which aims to look at the skills gap currently affecting the country.
“Skilling is an ongoing process. You really need to think hard about the skills that are required. There is a need to re-skill and upskill people – not just the youth but also the people above the age of 40 or 60,” said Kalpana Morparia, CEO, JP Morgan, India.
The NSAWI programme will be implemented in three phases. The first phase will create a clearer understanding of the challenges faced in providing and developing the necessary skills for the work place. The second phase will consist of a primary survey assessing workforce readiness in the National Capital Region(NCR). And at last, a National Urban Survey will be conducted focusing on the foundations that need to be laid in order to help create the correct educational environment that supports the provision of relevant work skills; how institutions can adapt their education programmes to provide the right training; and the kind of policies that need to be introduced in order to support and encourage training within the broader population.
Morparia added “India is in this unique situation where you have 20 million people who get into the workforce, just on the basis of their age. (The data may suggest that it) ranks low as compared to other countries but for me every such number is an opportunity, not a challenge. Rather than getting lost in the numbers, we should see what it is that we really need to do to address this issue at the bottom of the pyramid.”
“The kind of insight this research will provide will help us better understand how to help create enhance the linkages between education and employability,” said Morparia. It may be remembered, as part of Minister Narendra Modi’s Skill India Mission, finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced Rs 1,804 crore for the skill development ministry to push job creation. Tasked with creating entrepreneurs and an employable workforce, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will target training one crore youth over the next three years. As many as 1,500 new multi-skill centres will be set up with funds amounting to Rs 200 crore under the National Skill Development Council through the Ministry’s flagship scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).
The research will take place under the guidance of an advisory panel consisting of S. Ramadorai (the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Skills), Manish Sabharwal (CEO, TeamLease), Rohit Nandan (Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship); Rukmini Banerji (CEO of NGO Pratham), and Pramod Bhasin (CEO, Skills Academy, and former CEO, Genpact).
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