For Industry To Recruit Big, Centre's Skill Development Scheme Needs A Rejig

The programme, part of the Skill India Mission under the ambit of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, was launched on July 16, 2015, but it has been revised several times since then. 

Compared to other government-run schemes and programmes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, etc., the PMKVY has failed to generate the kind of buzz that was expected. 

Skill development and training are key to supporting India’s economic growth, reaping the demographic dividend and drawing investments — both foreign and domestic. According to official data, the scheme has so far trained and oriented about 1.5 crore people, but many of them complain that it has not helped them find jobs.

The estimated number of workers has increased to 10.96 crores in 2022-23, from 9.79 crores in 2021-22, a government release said. While the Centre has modified the programme from time to time to enhance its effectiveness, challenges remain.

“The government is aware of the challenges and bottlenecks that the PMKVY faces. It is looking into these issues to iron out the future path by making it effective,” a person familiar with the development told The Secretariat. 

Challenges Multiply As The Scheme Run By Private Training Centres 

The biggest challenge facing the scheme is that the government has to rely on private centres, mostly located in villages, to do the necessary training. “Many of these privately-run centres provide inadequate training and present incorrect numbers. As a result, course correction becomes difficult,” the person said. 

“When the training or the skill development programme is weak or inadequate, the employability of the people getting trained goes down, and the purpose of the scheme gets diluted,” they added.

Many students do not complete the training programme and opt out of it midway. However, the private training centres often do not capture these numbers. This leads to discrepancies between the numbers of those enrolled and those completing the training. Many candidates also struggle to find jobs due to inadequate post-training support, sources said.

Industry Feedback

While the industry had welcomed the programme, an analyst told The Secretariat that the employability of those trained under PMKVY remains weak despite the training and the regular Rozgar Melas organised by the government to boost employment. 

“This is an issue which needs to be taken up seriously, as India cannot afford to lose the opportunity offered by the demographic dividend,” the analyst said, on condition of anonymity. 

According to the International Labour Organisation, India has the demographic dividend on its side, as the share of the working-age population increased from 59 per cent in 2011 to 63 per cent in 2021, with nearly 7-8 million young workers getting added to the labour force each year. 

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Research Service (PRS India), in its report, noted that training, courses, curriculum, and practical skills imparted under PMKVY are not aligned with industry requirements. Further, the process for reporting placement details of candidates is cumbersome, highlighting the need to simplify the process, it said.

A skilled workforce is crucial to draw investments. China, for example, provided a ready workforce base for industries all over the world. 

Centre Serious About Course Correction

The sources said the Skill Development Ministry has been holding regular meetings to find a solution to these challenges and make the programme effective. 

“Employment generation is a subject the government is serious about. All necessary steps will be taken to ensure that the youth of the country are future-ready in terms of employment,” Gopal Krishna Agarwal, BJP’s spokesperson on economic affairs, told The Secretariat.