PM asks ministries to prepare skill development plans
PTI, 19 Jan 2012 | 10:50 PM
Concerned over the state of skill development, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh today asked the ministries to prepare plans for the next year
with special focus on fulfilling needs of minorities, SC, ST and
backwards.
Chairing a meeting of the National Council on Skill Development, he
asked his Cabinet colleagues to focus on sectors like infrastructure,
real estate, auto and auto components, textile, healthcare, retail and
logistics.
Singh asked ministers to consider the skilling needs of people
belonging to SC, ST, backward classes, minorities, women and those
with disabilities. His remarks come at a time when elections have been
announced to five state assemblies, including Uttar Pradesh.
"I must say our efforts on skill development side so far have been
rather tentative. We cannot let this state of affairs continue," he
said.
The time is appropriate to set ministry-wise targets for skill
development in the run-up to the Union Budget in mid-March, he said.
Skill requirement studies estimate that India will require around 26
crore skilled people by 2018 and around 34 crore by 2022, he said
adding that there was a need to provide quality training to around
eight crore people in the next five years.
"There is a significant gap between the requirement and the supply
which unless checked will constrain our economic growth," he said.
Singh also called upon the ministries to work closely with the states
and to allow them to select training providers and trades and create a
decentralised approval mechanism. The Prime Minister said with its
youth bulge, the country can reap a demographic dividend provided that
the youth are educated and possess skills required for earning a
decent livelihood.
"We have the serious challenge of providing quality education and
skills to about 85 per cent of the people aged between 15 and 59
years, who acquire less than 12 years of education", he said.
"A social and economic policy of inclusive development cannot ignore
the fact that a significant proportion of India's citizens are forced
to take up unskilled work because they lack the education and skills
required for taking up economically and professionally rewarding
employment," he said.
Singh said that while the government has set ambitious medium and long
term targets for skill development, there is a need to see that the
plans are backed by matching outlays.
"Naturally, we cannot achieve our goal with a 'business as usual'
approach," he said.
He called upon the central ministries to scale up their skill
development programmes substantially and propose ambitious skilling
initiatives in the 12th Plan (2012-17).
"In the background of the 12th Plan that is being written, an
inter-ministerial group has been set up recently to suggest
appropriate strategies to achieve the task of transformational
upscaling of skills.
"I hope that the group would be able to quickly finalize its report,
so that it may act as a major input related to skill development in
the 12th Plan document," Singh said.
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