India Needs Six Crore Skilled People by 2022: Gangwar

Underscoring the importance of skill development, Minister of State for Textiles (I/C), Santosh Kumar Gangwar said that India needs a total of six crore skilled people by 2022.

While inaugurating the National Workshop on Integrated Skill Development Scheme, he said that a change in mind-set has been brought about by the new Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is a step in this direction,” he added.

Gangwar said that we have to go to the person in need; skilling programmes have to reach those in need of them.

He said that this area of work is not confined to cities, but extends to villages and remote corners of the country as well. Expressing happiness at the employment of large number of women in the textile and allied sectors, the Textiles Minister hoped that the Workshop would give a new direction to the Integrated Skill Development Scheme and take it forward with renewed vigour.

Sanjay Kumar Panda, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles said that the scheme is powerful in connecting training agencies on the one hand with beneficiaries in villages on the other.

Panda said that youth today are impatient and in search of opportunities. They can get meaningful employment if the right type of skill is provided. For this, he said that the skill imparted has to be of good quality and as per industry needs.

He said that standardization of syllabi as per industry requirements and building infrastructure for training have been measures in this direction. He appealed to the industry to take the programme to greater heights, ensuring a minimum placement of 70 per cent.

The Secretary said that in the unorganized sector, skilling programmes should not end with training; efforts are being taken to organize the trainees into Self Help Groups on completion of training. He said that Common Facility Centres are also being set up in order to provide the requisite infrastructure, training and design support. Panda talked about the special focus being given to impart skill training for disadvantaged sections.

He highlighted the efforts of the Government to make growth inclusive, highlighting the example of Apparel and Garment Making Centres which are being set up in the North East Region.

The session was attended by various state government representatives, industry partners and other implementing institutions. The Workshop will have sessions on the convergence of ISDS with the ‘Skill India’ initiative; the role of state Governments in catalysing skill initiatives; standardization of courses, assessment and certification, and employment opportunities and challenges under ISDS. The workshop thus aims to identify, disseminate, evolve and institutionalize best practices to improve the effectiveness of the scheme in building the skill capital of India’s textile sector.