Emphasizing on the need for strengthening institutional mechanisms for skill development at the State level and bringing in a more robust framework, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and his officials, addressed a Workshop on Skill India Mission Operation which saw more than 80% of the States making their representations.
The workshop explained Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) efforts in ensuring alignment to common norms, district level committees, best practices, special projects, disadvantage groups and a robust model for monitoring and validation and emphasized the needs for States to come forward and handhold districts in making all skill initiatives a success at the local level.
Speaking on the occasion Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “We are sharing performance indicators on which the States will be mapped, basis which further allocation of funds and resource will be done. There has to be report card for all so that there is direct ownership; and organizations and States are graded on merit.”
The Ministry has recently received cabinet approvals of 10,000 crore and 12,000 crore on National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) version 2 respectively, coupled with $1 billion loan through the World Bank Project. The workshop was an endeavour to have an open discussion with the States and share with them the guidelines in which they can converge and coordinate with the Centre on skill development initiatives.
The workshop proposed an incentive grant mechanism under which an initial grant could be given to all states having a functional Skill Development Mission (SSDM) with at least 60% of all identified posts filled and an annual Skill Development plan with objectives and targets to provide some initial funding to undertake/support new activities.
In subsequent years, grant amount will depend on state performance (based on scores). Key principles for measuring state performance would be related to the 4 components of the Skills India Mission Project. Indicators have been identified. With a particular weight given to each of these indicators, a score can be calculated for each State.
Speaking on the roll out of PMKVY version 2 this year, Rajesh Agarwal, Joint Secretary, MSDE said, “25% of the PMKVY project will be implemented by the State Governments. The guidelines for PMKVY 2 have already been launched on July 15thand there is a separate system of accreditation, validation and affiliation has to happen this year. Processes like an online monitoring report, feedback on the candidate, grading of the training partners will all be brought into the ecosystem, which are crucial for the scheme’s success. A separate board of SSCs has been created which will monitor this progress periodically.”
The States were also informed that every district will have PMKVY centre and there will be a creation of an IT platform so that a proper social audit can be done and there is transparency. Dashboards will be provided to the States and the States will also have the right to monitor short term training as well which account for 75% of the PMKVY ecosystem aligned to QP/NOS.
A district level committee will also be formed for closer monitoring. Master craftsmen will also undergo training and will be certified to standards. Mobilization this time will be done in conjunction with District Administration and there has to be a focus on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as well so that more youth can be brought under the formally trained segment.
The workshop also discussed the National Apprentice Promotion Scheme, which is expected to have the guidelines in the next 10-15 days and its formal launch will happen around mid-august. 100% involvement of States was sought after and States were expected to recommend apprenticeship advisors to implement the scheme. The representative were inducted into the reforms which have simplified the entire process of apprentice enrollment.
Speaking on the representatives, Asheesh Sharma, Joint Secretary, MSDE and DG – Training said, “There are only 23000 private companies that are engaging in apprenticeship. This number has to increase and many more corporate have to come to the forefront. Our financial year target for 2016-17 is to ensure enrollment of 5 lakh apprentices.”
Note: News shared for public awareness with reference from the information provided at online news portals.
