The 68th report of the National Sample Survey shows that a mere 4.7 percent of the whole workforce has formal skill training. This is in stark contrast to the condition of workforce in Germany with 75 percent, Japan with 80 percent and Korea with 96 percent.
As per the report published in 2017 by the World Bank, over 12 million youth aged between 15 and 29 years are supposed to be a part of the nation’s labour force. The analysis of skill gap shows that by 2022, about 109 million skilled labours will be required in 24 prime sectors of the economy.
Skill vouchers to drive youth employability: The government of India is presently undertaking the issuance of skill vouchers or skill wallets for incentivising the young generation. These vouchers can be utilised to pay for training at any government-approved skill development sector. The value of these vouchers depends on the courses that the trainees opt for. The primary aim of the government is to bring about a paradigm shift in education from subsidy based to incentive-based.
There are two types of redeemable vouchers: one is completely redeemable with reduced payscale and partially redeemable vouchers with a high pay scale. The completely redeemable vouchers are introduced in various sectors like construction since the starting salary is much less and often inadequate for the trainee to bear the training cost alone. On the other hand, courses such as fashion designing or beautician with a high starting salary can be redeemed partially while the candidate will have to bear the rest of the cost.
The benefits of the skill vouchers
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship opines that in the last few years, there has been enough consolidation as well as up-gradation under the Skill India Mission. Now, they are approaching towards experimenting with a new model for making skill aspiration for the young people of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Skill India Mission a few years back with an aim to impart skill training to over 400 million individuals by 2022 through different schemes.
Students are free to choose their vouchers as per their choices. These vouchers are not just meant to empower youth as they will be able to receive quality training. These initiatives ensure that the approved training institutes offer a wide variety of courses in different disciplines to attract more students.
