Skill India Digital Aims to Improve Youth Employability Through Innovative Skills Training

Under the Skill India Mission (SIM), the Government delivers skill, re-skill and up-skill training through an extensive network of skill development centres/institutes , under various schemes, viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Sikhshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to all the sections of the society across the country. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills.

Following specific steps have been taken to align the training programs to market needs and improve the employability of trainees:

1. The training programmes offered under the schemes of MSDE are developed in collaboration with industries, keeping in view market demands. 36 Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), led by industry leaders in the respective sectors, have been set up by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) which are mandated to identify the skill development needs of respective sectors as well as to determine skill competency standards.
2. Future ready job-roles addressing the requirement of Industry 4.0, emerging sectors like Drone, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Mechatronics, etc., have been prioritized under PMKVY 4.0. Under CTS also, new age courses have been developed to meet the demand of futuristic job roles in emerging technologies.
3. The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) has been set up as an overarching regulator establishing regulations and standards to ensure quality in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) space.
4. The Awarding Bodies recognised by NCVET are expected to develop the qualifications as per the industry demand and map them with the identified occupations as per the National Classification of Occupation, 2015, of Ministry of Labour and Employment and obtain industry validations.
5. Directorate General of Training (DGT) is implementing Flexi MoU Scheme and Dual System of Training (DST). These initiatives are meant to provide training to ITI students in industrial environment.
6. Courses aligned to National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) also have components of On Job Training (OJT) and employability skills.
7. DGT has also signed MoU with IT Tech companies like IBM, CISCO, Future Skill Rights Network (erstwhile Quest Alliance), Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft to ensure industry linkages for the institutes at the state and regional levels under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
8. NSDC, under the Market led program, provides support to training providers that collaborate and align skill courses with industry demand.
9. Under NAPS, apprenticeship training and increasing engagement with industrial establishments for undertaking apprenticeship programmes is promoted.
10. Government of India has signed Migration and Mobility Agreement with ten countries viz., U.K.; France, Germany, Israel, Taiwan, Austria, Mauritius, Australia, Portugal and Finland for aligning skilling with demand in these countries.
11. Government of India has announced setting up of 30 Skill India International Centers for catering to the demand for skilled workers for foreign countries.

Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) plays a crucial role in preparing the Indian workforce for Industry 4.0 by offering futuristic courses on Big Data, Machine Learning and Analytics, etc. provided by its digital learning partners. Industry 4.0 course such as Python with Advanced AI, Artificial Intelligence Foundation, Generative AI, Build Classical Machine Learning Models with Supervised Learning, Data Analytics Essentials, Analytics Data in a Relational Data Warehouse, Cyber security Essentials, Introduction to Data Science, Kisan Drone Operator, EV Service Technician, Bio- waste Management, along with other certification courses, are being offered on the platform.

The Number of Centers under the schemes of MSDE in Pali district of Rajasthan are as under:

*No. of Establishments

Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) is at the intersection of two of the most important priorities of the Government – Skill India and Digital India. It is a mobile – first digital platform designed to synergize India’s skill development, education, employment and entrepreneurship landscape. Its primary objective is to expand the reach of skilling and provide opportunity to youth of the country to skill, re-skill and upskill digitally without depending only upon physical training infrastructure. It provides a comprehensive and accessible platform for skill enhancement, offering industry- relevant skill courses, apprenticeship and job opportunities, and entrepreneurship support. SIDH is a digital expansion of skilling opportunities and integrated platform that have digital job exchange between stakeholders. The SIDH platform and its mobile application were launched in September 2023.

SIDH is designed on the principles of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for skill development, education, employment, and entrepreneurship landscape. It is a citizen-centric platform that empowers every citizen to select and learn skill courses aligned to their knowledge and interests. It helps to select skill courses aligned with the education and career goals and hosts both online and classroom-based skill courses. SIDH is integrated with UIDAI, e-Shram, NCS and Digilocker, empowering learners to earn, bank and redeem the credits they have earned through skill courses and / or through work experience. SIDH caters diverse needs of a citizen through Learning Management System for digital skilling, Portable Verified Credentials and Multi-lingual choice to ensure inclusivity, etc. It also enables the convergence of skilling program for all Ministries/ Departments of Central Government and of the State Governments, empowering every citizen to select from multiple skilling programs as per their preference.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Shri Jayant Chaudhary in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.