India has seen big changes in job opportunities over the past 10 years, says Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Before, there were not many jobs, but now there are more. About 45 million young people have been trained for jobs since 2014. The focus now is on training people in new skills like artificial intelligence, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing.
What are the main achievements in skill development?
Before 2014, most workers in India didn’t have any special skills. There were around 30 crore unskilled workers out of 42 crore. So, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the Skill India Mission to train people for jobs. Between 2014 and before COVID-19, about 4.5 crore young people got job training. Also, the new National Education Policy in 2020 made job training part of school education. This helped fix the gap in skills and education in our workforce.
Is our society ready for job training?
For a long time, people thought having a degree was enough. But employers want experience, which comes from skills, not just degrees. That’s why job training is now part of education.
What about students who dropped out of school?
Now, anyone can get job training at special centers set up in schools under the government’s program. Even if you dropped out of school, you can go back and learn skills like computer programming or phone repair.
Is there a change in the types of skills needed?
After COVID-19, more jobs need technology and digital skills. The government is working on providing training in these areas.
What about startups?
Before 2014, only a few big companies dominated the economy. So, the Prime Minister wanted to encourage more startups. Now, India is a global hub for startups. We went from 100 startups in 2014 to over 1.18 lakh now, with 112 of them worth over $1 billion. The goal is to have ten times more startups in the next five years, focusing on new skills.
