Corporate India has responded positively to the Government’s call for playing a bigger role in the skill development initiative. The challenges and opportunities of skill development in the country were discussed elaborately at the National Industry Conclave on Skill held in Mumbai on January 12.
While addressing a press conference after the conclave, Venkaiah Naidu, Union Urban Development Minister said, “Skilling the youth is the biggest challenge in India. The number of vocationally trained people in India is only 5.3 per cent, as against 70-90 per cent in countries like Japan, South Korea and Western Europe.”
“In the areas of skill development we have to take care of school dropouts, college dropouts, graduates and post graduates, engineering, vocational skills, agriculture and allied activities, craft and self-help groups,” he said.
The Minister stressed on the importance of imparting right skills for the youth and urged industry leaders to help in establishing at least one skill development centre in each of the districts of India.
He states that the private sector employment and self-employment are the future avenues for the youth, and asked the industrialists to come forward and adopt ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) across the country.
The Minister informs, “Almost all the corporate leaders pledged their help in bridging the skill gap. The industry requested the government to establish central mechanism of certification of skilled workers. They also demanded establishment of training schools for the trainers.”
