There are a plethora of organisations which are working in collaboration with the Indian government towards skill development through skilling, upskilling and reskilling as well as vocational training through various programmes. These programmes are conceptualised, executed and closely monitored to provide a high quality of skilling and higher productivity. This is more specific to the unorganised sector to which 83 percent of India’s workforce belongs according to data given by the National Skills Network. These programmes strive towards skill development and a sustained livelihood through gainful employment. Though there are many such programmes, let’s look at the top 10 organisations, missions and schemes that are working towards the economic betterment of the informal sector.
Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Kaushal Yojana (DDU-GKY)
The Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Kaushal Yojana is specially designed to add diversity to the incomes of rural poor families and to address the career prospects of rural youth between the ages of 15 to 35. It is a placement-linked skill development programme which has taken up 66 special projects to date with many more in the pipeline.
Started by the Ministry of Rural Development, DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission and funds myriad skill training programmes all over India and encompasses more than 250 trades which include hospitality, retail, health, automotive, construction, electrical, leather, plumbing and gems and jewellery among many more. As part of the Skill India campaign, DDU-GKY has committed an investment of more than Rs 5,600 crore since 2012 to upskill India’s rural youth.
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)
The main aim of this mission is to provide urban poor households access to skill-related employment opportunities in an organised manner to curb poverty. It also organises regional workshops in support of the urban street vendors, urban homeless etc. to hone entrepreneurial capabilities. Another objective is to increase the income of the urban poor by providing them with employment or self-employment opportunities after completion of skill-based courses and gradually improving their living standards.
Director General of Training – Modular Employable Skills (DGT-MES)
The Indian government and the Ministry of Labour have together launched this scheme under the Skill Development Initiative. This scheme caters to school dropouts and workers, specifically those in the unorganised sector and trains them with employable skills. This scheme aims to provide vocational training to school dropouts, rural and unemployed youth and ITI graduates to improve their employability. Children above the age of 14 years who have suffered child labour are given priority to teach them skills to get gainful employment.
Ministry of Labor and Employment (MoLE)
The main responsibility of the Ministry of Labour and Employment is to protect the interests of workers in general, the rural and urban poor and the deprived sections of society. It aims to promote welfare and provide social security to the workers of the organised and unorganised sectors. It places tremendous focus on women and child welfare and has started schemes to support them. The National Career Services is another initiative of this Ministry that deals with providing job matching services to the youth easily and provides information on education, jobs and career opportunities.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)
NREGA was initiated specifically for unskilled manual labourers and guarantees the right to work in rural areas by providing wage employment for at least 100 days to a member of every household who is willing to do unskilled work. Employment under NREGA has legal clauses and is directly implemented by the Gram Panchayats. Apart from this, it also aims at empowering rural women, protecting the environment, reducing rural migration and encouraging social equality.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)
This Ministry is responsible for coordinating the skill development efforts pan-India, building the vocational and technical training framework, building new skills, skill upgradation and innovative thinking not only for the present jobs but also for jobs that need to be created. This Ministry has supported several other skill development missions like the National Skill Development Agency, National Skill Development Corporation, National Skill Development Fund, 33 Sector Skill Councils and 187 training partners registered with NSDC. It is also looking to work with the existing skill development training centres and institutes in the field.
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
The National Skill Development Corporation is an innovative organisation under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. It looks at promoting skills by creating large and premium training institutes all over the country. It provides encouragement through funding to enterprises, companies and organisations that provide skill training. At present it works with 267 training partners and together in 4 years they have managed to get employment for 2 million skilled people in more than 25 sectors. The government of India works in close collaboration with NSDC to finance training and reached the target of skill-based training to 400 million people in 2022.
National Skill Development Agency (NSDA)
NSDA is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and coordinates the skill development efforts of the Government and the private sector. It works in partnership with several agencies like the Central Ministry skill programmes, NSDC and sector skill councils and especially targets the skill needs of the disadvantaged and marginalised groups like SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, women and differently-abled persons without bias.
National Rural Livelihood Mission – Aajeevika Skills
The Aajeevika Skill Development Programme is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Rural Development and operates under NRLM. It focuses on trying to understand the professional aspirations of the youth and increase their income. Young people from poor communities get an opportunity to upgrade their skills and join the skilled workforce. Its salient features are food and transport during training, assured placement and post-placement support. NRLM is trying to encourage the entrepreneurial skills of the poor by creating appropriate platforms and encouraging states to share their perspective on implementing this scheme. This scheme also encourages the private sector to set up training institutes which will generate self-employment.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and is a unique initiative by the Indian government to train about 24 lakh Indian youth for the global market by providing industry-relevant and skill-based training. This scheme also provides financial support which will help them in securing a job. The training and assessment are completely paid for by the government and skill development centres provide youth with short-term training, Kaushal and Rozgar Mela, special projects, placement and monitoring guidelines. Many skill sectors have implemented the PMKVY scheme, keeping in mind the deficit of skill development in schools and colleges. The government has set up training centres for candidates to get enrolled, learn the relevant skills, participate in the assessment and certification program and secure a job at the end.
According to statistics released by the United Nations, there are 1.2 billion people aged between 15 and 24 years, which is approximately 16 per cent of the global population. India has a large youth population and unemployment is rampant in this section. Skill India and the National Skill Development Mission under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship are doing their bit in providing skill sets to empower India’s youth so that they get better job opportunities and are more productive at work.
References:
- Top 10 organisations, missions and schemes for skill development, livelihoods and gainful employment | National Skills Network | May 2016
- World Youth Skills Day: 5 Skill Development Schemes to Make India’s Youth Job Ready | YourStory | July 2019
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