Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday emphasised the need to strengthen the “State Skill Development Missions” across the country making them as nodal points for convergence of skilling initiatives for optimum utilisation, besides its three-tier de-centralisation at the State, district and block level.
Badal, presiding over the final meeting to deliberate upon the recommendations of the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Skill Development at NITI Aayog as its convener, recommended involving panchayats, municipalities and civil society organisations for mobilisation of skills aspirants.
He apprised the fellow Chief Ministers that the Sub-Group has already accomplished its substantial task and the draft report was nearing the stage of completion.
Highlighting some key recommendations like exploring legislation on “Right of Youth to Skill Development” as already done by Chattisgarh Government, Badal said, “We already have empowered our citizens with Right to Information, Right to Education, Right to Food Security etc and now time has come when we have to give Right to Skill to every youth in the country.”
The Sub-Group also recommended mobilising private sector for skill development apart from opening up of National Skill Development Council and Sector Skill Council Chapters at the state level or the regional level for better co-ordination.
Stressing the need for improving access and outreach, the Sub-Group recommended to initiate vocational education from middle school and giving flexibility to state government to introduce traditional and local skills suitable to local needs and promotes entrepreneurship.
Badal also suggested imparting skill development training to youth in the healthcare sector, local trades and crafts such as handicrafts and wood works as in north eastern States.
Similarly, the youth in agriculture and animal husbandry related occupations of bee-keeping, dairying, fisheries etc could be skilled in pre-dominantly agrarian States to enable the youth to be gainfully employed through occupations nearby their homes, he added.
To overcome the shortage of trainers and qualified instructors, Badal said that a special focus would be given to impart skill training to rural youth, women, persons with disabilities and informal sector besides developing pool of trainers and instructors to initiate skill development programs in far more effective and result oriented manner.
For this, he advocated the concept of involving Skill Universities for harnessing the unbounded talent of qualified trainers optimally besides conducting skill gap studies to identify local or traditional skills.
Regarding funding skill development, Badal outlined recommendations as suggested by the members of the sub-group. “Out of two percent of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, at least half the amount of one percent may be earmarked exclusively for skill development activities. Secondly, levying a cess for skill development for creating a non-lapsable pool; thirdly, use of building and construction welfare fund, CAMPA fund, state mineral fund, MPlADs or MlA in skilling,” he added.
Badal forcefully pleaded that the funds available with labour Welfare Board should be utilised for skill development of all under-privileged and other eligible youth instead of merely restricting it to the wards of building and construction workers. NITI Aayog CEO Sindushree Khullar said that the final report would be submitted to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi within a week.