Promoting vocational and life-skills training
Skill Development has been a major policy agenda of the Indian government in the past few years. The underlying motive of the National Skill Policy is to empower the workforce with required skills, knowledge and qualifications to make the Indian workforce globally competent. Apart from this, it is mandated that the focus will be on increasing productivity of workforce in the organized and unorganised sector, increasing participation of women, youth, disabled and other disadvantaged sections.
Skill development is envisaged to bridge the gap between demand and supply of skilled manpower, build the vocational and technical training framework, skill up-gradation, build new skills and innovative thinking. National Skill Qualification Framework is a step in right direction to standardise the academic delivery across training institutions and provide career pathways and employment oriented courses. The Govt has passed 'Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014' to increase the number of skilled manpower and provide industries with flexibility to hire apprentices as well as improve stipends specified to them. Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is another ambitious initiative and is expected to contribute heavily to the existing workforce, especially in the unorganised sector.
We intend to increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship through working in partnership with the government of India’s skill development program. For this purpose, AEEDU is materialising synergies through synchronising the skill development training for the underprivileged youth in India.
Skill Development Initiative of the AEEDU has been entrusted the responsibility to create a network of Enablers, Implementing agencies and Beneficiaries that could train youth by providing them skills with objective for enhancing their Employment or Self-Employment opportunities. AEEDU will spread awareness about the need for skilling and counselling at each level of mobilisation by its partner implementing bodies by making use of technology which can play a critical role by exploiting economies of scale and reach larger target audiences. AEEDU will build a network of schools for disseminating awareness about career paths to students should they choose to take up vocational courses.
Some skills like unorganised retail and handicrafts do not require a training centre and skills are passed on from generation to generation and due to lack of marketability and recognition, these skills run the risk of being lost, since the younger generation do not want to associate themselves with trades which neither give financial stability nor recognition. AEEDU plans to work with artisans to preserve their skills, link them to markets and opportunities and leverage support like finance and technology through coalition partners.