National Policy for Skill Development -2015
Introduction
National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 supersedes the policy of 2009. The primary objective of this policy is to meet the challenge of skilling at scale with speed, standard (quality) and sustainability. It aims to provide an umbrella framework to all skilling activities being carried out within the country, to align them to common standards and link skilling with demand centres. In addition to laying down the objectives and expected outcomes, the policy also identifies the overall institutional framework which will act as a vehicle to reach the expected outcomes. Skills development is the shared responsibility of the key stakeholders viz. Government, the entire spectrum of corporate sector, community based organizations, those outstanding, highly qualified and dedicated individuals who have been working in the skilling and entrepreneurship space for many years, industry and trade organisations and other stakeholders. The policy links skills development to improved employability and productivity in paving the way forward for inclusive growth in the country. The skill strategy is complemented by specific efforts to promote entrepreneurship in order to create ample opportunities for the skilled workforce
Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Landscape
One of the biggest challenges of skill development in our country is that 93% of the workforce is in informal/unorganised sector. Consequently it is difficult to map existing skills in the unorganised sector and gauge the skilling requirement in the sector. On the other hand, the rate of job growth in informal sector is estimated to be twice that in formal sector.
Women constitute almost half of the demographic dividend. The key challenge here is to increase their participation in the country’s labour force, which is directly linked to economic growth of the country. Census data has revealed that there has been a continuing fall in labour force participation rate of women from 33.3% to 26.5% in rural areas, and from 17.8% to 15.5% in 6 urban areas between 2004 and 2011. Mainstreaming gender roles by skilling women in non-traditional roles and increasing gender sensitivity in the workplace will have a catalytic effect on productivity and be a smart economic decision.
Job creation for skilled youth is also a major challenge before the nation. Entrepreneurship based on innovation has immense growth potential. However, the number of local entrepreneurs emerging every year in India is very low. The Global Innovation Index 2014 ranks India 76 out of 7 143 countries. Accelerating entrepreneurship especially that based on innovation is crucial for large-scale employment generation in India.
The growth and prosperity of all economies remains highly dependent on entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurs are the essence of economic growth they provide a source of income and employment for themselves, create employment for others, produce new and innovative products 8 or services, and drive greater upstream and downstream value-chain activities . Supportive environments are increasingly essential to successful entrepreneurship and these are evolving across the world. The ideal entrepreneurial environment has five pillars: Access to funding, Entrepreneurial culture, Supportive regulatory and tax regimes, Educational systems that support entrepreneurial mindsets; and a coordinated approach that links the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Aims and Objectives of the Policy
Vision
To create an ecosystem of empowerment by Skilling on a large Scale at Speed with high Standards and to promote a culture of innovation based entrepreneurship which can generate wealth and employment so as to ensure Sustainable livelihoods for all citizens in the country.
Mission
The mission is to Create a demand for skilling across the country; Correct and align skilling with required competencies; Connect the supply of skilled human resources with sectoral demands; Certify and assess in alignment with global and national standards; and Catalyse an ecosystem wherein productive and innovative entrepreneurship germinates, sustains and grows leading to creation of a more dynamic entrepreneurial economy and more formal wage employment.
Objectives
The core objective of the Policy is to empower the individual, by enabling her/him to realize their full potential through a process of lifelong learning where competencies are accumulated via instruments such as credible certifications, credit accumulation and transfer, etc. As individuals grow, the society and nation also benefit from their productivity and growth.
Policy Framework for Skill Development
The policy framework has been developed to accomplish the vision of Skill India by adhering to the objectives mentioned previously. The framework outlines eleven major paradigms and enablers to achieve these objectives of skilling India:
- Aspiration and Advocacy
- Capacity
- Quality
- Synergy
- Mobilization and Engagement
- Global Partnerships
- Outreach
- ICT Enablement
- Trainers and Assessors
- Inclusivity
Policy Framework for Entrepreneurship
The entrepreneurship policy framework has been developed to address the objectives underlined previously. Vibrant entrepreneurship requires support from an enabling ecosystem of culture, finance, expertise, infrastructure, skills and business friendly regulation. Many government and non-government organizations are playing enabling roles across each of these crucial supporting elements. This policy framework, cognizant of the need for the full ecosystem to be present to unlock entrepreneurial potential, proposes a nine part entrepreneurship strategy:
- Educate and equip potential and early stage entrepreneurs across India
- Connect entrepreneurs to peers, mentors and incubators.
- Support entrepreneurs through Entrepreneurship Hubs (E-Hubs).
- Catalyse a culture shift to encourage entrepreneurship.
- Encourage entrepreneurship among under-represented groups.
- Promote Entrepreneurship amongst Women
- Improve ease of doing business.
- Improve access to finance.
- Foster social entrepreneurship and grassroots innovations
Monitoring and Evaluation
The National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been structured as an outcome oriented policy. It is therefore desirable that there should be regular monitoring and evaluation of the initiatives to ensure that best practices can be scaled and corrective measures can be introduced. The main idea of having a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism is to ensure successful implementation of the policy initiatives. Government desires to set up a Policy Implementation Unit (PIU) so as to review the implementation and progress of the various initiatives under this policy. The PIU will be housed in MSDE with Secretary as the Chairperson and representation from NITI Aayog. For the smooth functioning of the PIU, it will also ensure constant consultation with stakeholders to get feedback so as to enable improvements, if required. The PIU will perform the following functions:
- List all the action points as mentioned in the policy on which further action is required
- Identify all the agencies involved and map the actionable points to the responsible agency
To coordinate with all the agencies involved and help them devise a draft outline as well as timelines for the implementation of the initiatives assigned to them
