SHILLONG: Punjab Chief Minister and Chairman of the Sub Group of the Chief Ministers on Skill Development, Prakash Singh Badal, on Monday expressed concern over the dismal percentage of skilled workers in the country which stood at a mere 12 per cent.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting of the Sub Group of the Chief Ministers on Skill Development here on Monday, Badal said the percentage of skilled workers was more than 80-90 per cent in developed countries.
While admitting that not much attention was being given to the problem of unskilled workers in the country, Badal said the human factor is the most important for the progress of the country but attention has not been paid on this aspect. Mentioning that skill was the most important requirement, Badal said, “The more the percentage of skilled workers, the higher will be the per capita income.”
According to Badal, the greatest problem of the country is unemployment and the main reason for unemployment is the lack of skill among the workers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had constituted a board of chief ministers to prepare details on how to make India a skilled nation. Other chief minister not included in the Board can present their views till June 25.
Badal said the group is at the discussion level right now and thereafter will prepare the final reports. The next meeting of the Sub Group is slated to be held in Chhattisgarh.
Surprisingly, with the exception of the Meghalaya Chief Minister and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister nabam Tuki, none of the chief ministers from other Northeastern and eastern states attended this all-important meeting.
The Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Skill Development which was formed by the Governing Council of NITI Aayog with the Punjab chief minister as Convener; chief ministers of Meghalaya, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Tripura as members and CEO of NITI Aayog as the Coordinator.
The meeting was participated by 13 states. Three states – Punjab, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh – were represented by their chief ministers; Mizoram, Nagaland and Assam were represented by their ministers and Tripura by the chief secretary; while Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Puducherry, Bihar and Odisha were represented by their respective government officers.
The objective of the meeting was to deliberate on measures to enhance capacity and improve standards of skilling at the State level, examine private sector participation in skill development and to suggest ways for improved partnership of private sector in curriculum development, delivery mechanism, pedagogy, certification, apprenticeship training and propose measures to expand outreach of skilling programmes, particularly in demographically advantageous states.
Some of the important issues discussed in the regional consultation meeting were implementation structure of skill development programmes in the States, shortage of trainers, utilizing the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare funds available with the States for skill development, harnessing of traditional skills, making best use of the resources and opportunities available with the states, promoting local entrepreneurship in viable sectors and the funding requirement for Skill Development Programmes.
Earlier, in his opening address, the Punjab chief minister expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his timely action in setting up the sub-committee to address ‘the most important issue in the country’.
Stating that India is the youngest nation country in the world with 65 per cent of its population below 35 years of age, Badal said, “After Independence care has not been taken about the issue and India has remained an unskilled nation lagging far behind other countries in skill development.”
He added that it is the vision of the Prime Minister to make each and every youth of the country skilled employable citizens.
Badal also stressed on the need to link skill training to placement, to motivate the youth that skill is more important than having government jobs and to work on a mission mode. With more unemployed youths in the rural areas, he also called for skill up gradation in agriculture and allied activities.
Arunachal Chief Minister Nabam Tuki also apprised the meeting of the skill development programmes being taken in his state since 2012 and its plans to have an ITI in every district with job- oriented courses and requested the Central government to make skill development a mission-mode programme.
Representatives from other member states, including Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Sikkim, Manipur, Odisha and Bihar also shared their respective state’s initiatives on skill development and the challenges being faced.
