Ministry of Skills started talking to government's abroad, identified 42 lakh positions for skilled Indians in 12 countries

New Delhi: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has identified 42 lakh blue- and grey-collar jobs for skilled Indian workers across 12 countries and is trying to collaborate with these nations to send skilled workers overseas.

At a press conference held Thursday, MSDE Secretary Praveen Kumar said, “We have identified 26 lakh job opportunities in the Gulf, 3 lakh in the European countries and about 10 lakh job opportunities in countries like US, Singapore, New Zealand and Switzerland. In addition to this, we have identified 3 lakh job opportunities for medical technical assistants in the countries of Japan, Australia, Germany, Canada, Sweden, UK, USA, Switzerland, Qatar and Saudi Arabia among others.”

Indian workers who are trained at the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras and Industrial Training Institutes will be matched with these job requirements found abroad, Kumar said.

“India has a demographic dividend of about 62 per cent and it will remain so for the next 30 years. The workers found fit for the job roles will be trained and taught the required languages to be able to fit into the culture of the country they go to,” he added.

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Talking about the job roles, Kumar told ThePrint, “In Gulf countries we have found that technical workers with experience in construction, welders, plumbers, and in European countries the demand for personal workers, nursing staff and food delivery staff has been identified.”

“A joint working group has been formed in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and our Japanese counterparts in order to strengthen and materialise areas of cooperation. Talks with Australia are underway as well,” the secretary added.

In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had emphasised on the need for skilling and placement of Indian workers and increased cooperation between India and its international counterparts.

In January this year, the government signed an agreement with Japan to institutionalise the process of exchange of skilled workers between the two countries.

Collaboration with other countries, strengthening training bodies

Speaking about how these job roles are identified, Kumar said, “In order to identify a match, we match Indian qualifications with that of other countries. For example, in our collaboration with the UAE, we identified 15 qualifications from UAE are equivalent with 18 qualifications in India.”

He also spoke about the need to strengthen training bodies like the India International Skill Centers (IISC). Powered by the National Skill Development Cooperation, 545 centres of the IISC are currently functioning across the country. These centres help in training students in the area of personality, language and additional skills.

Kumar also spoke about the ministry’s plan to bring further amendments to the National Apprenticeship Act 1961 and Apprenticeship Rules 1992, under which undergraduates and school students are trained by companies. He said, “We are in the process of revamping the scheme and will bring all stakeholders on board before implementing them. We plan to increase the number of apprentices by 10-15 per cent.”