Raju asks stakeholders to address shortage of skilled manpower

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today asked all stakeholders to address the issue of shortage of skilled manpower in the aviation sector, as Indian aviation market grows rapidly and is expected to become the third largest in the world by 2026.
He said all stakeholders should come together and work out ways for skill development in the aviation sector, taking into consideration the requirements and employment opportunities available in its all segments, including in MRO (maintenance repair and overhaul) and cargo, both within and outside the country.
The minister was addressing a workshop on skill gap analysis and roadmap for skill development in the civil aviation sector.

The workshop was organised to discuss recommendations of a draft report on the issue with all stakeholders, prepared by ICRA group subsidiary ICRA Management Consulting Services Limited, an official release said.
At the workshop, Raju said that there is a tremendous mismatch between the kind of skills available in the sector currently and the kind of skills required.
The workshop was attended by Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Secretary Rohit Nandan and Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey, besides representatives from various segments of the aviation industry.

The ministry has hired IMaCS ICRA to carry out a comprehensive skill gap analysis of the civil aviation sector and formulate a future road map for skill development in the sector.

The draft report has identified possible skill requirements across aviation segments like airport, airline, MRO, cargo and ground handling.
According to the release, building a robust training and skill-building ecosystem through institutional strengthening, infrastructure and capacity planning, training process reengineering, strengthening funding mechanism and monitoring are some of the recommendations made in the draft report.
It has also recommended the setting up of a National Civil Aviation Training Authority and Cargo and Ground Handling Sector Skill Council.