Maharashtra leads skill development in India, 45 million workers to be trained by 2022: Experts

Mumbai: Even as Maharashtra has emerged as the leading state for contributing towards skill development in the country, city educationists have hailed the state’s vision in generating employment over the next decade. According to the data for various programmes managed by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), as on 30 June, Maharashtra has trained over 10 lakh people across 40 sectors since 2011. [caption id=“attachment_3862703” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. PTI[/caption] Trustee of Mumbai-based Podar Education group, Raghav Podar said Maharashtra has set a vision of equipping 45 million people with employable skills by the year 2022. This is encouraging, because India currently faces a severe shortage of well-trained, skilled workers, he said. “Our demographic advantage is predicted to last only until 2040. India, therefore, has a very narrow time frame to harness its demographic dividend and to overcome its skill shortages,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Podar Group here. Podar was speaking while taking part in a global education summit held in Delhi on Friday. While the experts exuded confidence in government’s initiatives, state skill development and entrepreneurship minister Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar said the government is hopeful that there will be better employment opportunities for the youth in the near future, with the support from the private sector. Head of department of Communication and Journalism at University of Mumbai, Sanjay Ranade said the idea of polytechnic was always around, but it was put in the back burner as the nation began to cater to Euro-American job markets that required higher and technical education. “That’s when we sacrificed skill training and development for superficial degrees and the damage is for everyone to see. We are now coming back on track. I am of the opinion that the government should focus on 10+2 and polytechnic so that we make job creators rather than job seekers,” he said. Head of Media and Entertainment Program and associate dean at Welingkar Institute of Management, Mangesh Borse said at a time when the country is struggling with employable manpower, Maharashtra’s performance in skill development is impressive. “Not only has the government enhanced skills for new age sectors like IT and telecom, it is notable that it continues to support traditional sectors like textiles, apparels and banking,” Borse said. Meanwhile, Nilangekar said the government has signed 61 MoUs with private companies to promote skill development. “We have adopted Germany’s model where we are looking at job training. We now have many (private firms) who have come forward to help in skilling using CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds. We are approving tailor-made courses which are match the current requirements of the market,” said Nilangekar.