Labour ministry initiates steps for skill development

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is pushing hard for enhancing skills of labour in various sectors to suit the changing needs of the economy — a promise Prime Minister Narendra Modi has quite often made in his speeches.

The labour ministry has formed a mentor council each for sectors such as automobiles and textile, to revamp various courses run by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT).

According to the ministry, the mentor councils will “suggest ways of scaling up training of trainers with quality and identify and suggest methods of improving on-the-job training and placement of various courses approved by NCVT”.

“It was recommended that ITIs and industry might enter into MoUs to conduct training programme to meet the specific manpower requirement of the industry with high employment potential specially designed courses with NCVT certification,” a ministry note stated.

Meanwhile, the labour ministry will hold a meeting on Friday to strategise the skill upgradation for workers in the unorganised sector, particularly the construction sector, as a part of its National Employment Policy (NEP).

The NEP aims to “enrich skill base and productivity level in non-farm sectors such as construction". For this, the ministry will assess the method — recognition of prior learning (RPL) for the workers in the construction sector — successfully adopted in countries such as Australia and France.

RPL is a process of gaining knowledge and skills outside the formal learning processes. It is “transforming informal skills into formal skills,” according to the ministry. It recognises a particular skill and sets the competency level to certify if the person meets some of the specified criteria.

According to a background note prepared by the ministry, the share of employment in construction sector has almost doubled in India from 5.6 per cent in 2004-05 to 11.6 per cent in 2011-12.