Govt to train 50 lakh people in 5 yrs in factory skills: Rudy

The government has planned to train 50 lakh people in factory skills in five years in a bid to bridge the gap between unskilled youth force and industry requirements, Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said today.
"As per the vision of our Prime Minister, India should be the 'skill capital'. People have education but lack the employability skill. We have the demographic dividend but we need to tap it.
"Our industry also has requirements of skilled workforce. In five years, we need 3 crore people in construction sector...And, therefore, as part of the vision of our ministry,
we plan to train 50 lakh people in five years, in factories with stipend," he said.

The Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was addressing a function to launch the book 'Sourcebook on Skill Development and Management' authored by social scientist B Ramaswamy.
Rudy said the Centre was planning to open centres abroad to train and assist migrant Indian population, many of whom face language barriers, among other issues.

"As part of our ministry's vision, we have approached a three-pronged strategy - identifying those who need to be skilled, creating a curriculum for skilling and having an assessment leading to certification," he said.
Speaking on the changes in Industrial Training Institute (ITI) paradigm, Rudy noted, "now youth trained at ITI from 8th to 10th standard will be considered equivalent to 10th pass and those from 10th to 12th standard as 12th pass."

"Under this new paradigm, 18 lakh students are set to benefit annually. And, 400 million people will benefit from our new vision in the unorganised sector," he said.
Union Minister of State for HRD Upendra Kushwaha said, "the skilling of youth will bridge the gap between the untrained youth and the requirement of skilled workforce in the industry," adding, "it will also help reduce crime."
Lok Sabha MP Maheish Girri said, "skill in India has not been recognised and only education is respected. There is sort of a stigma attached to people who possess skills but little education. That stigma must be broken.