Webinar with Secretary, Skill Development, GoI

“The Ministry of Skill Development to release SOPs for opening and operating Skill Centres and will launch the Skill Management Information System while working on Reverse Migrants”: Shri Praveen Kumar, Secretary, Skill Development, GoI while Industry demands regulatory relaxation for the apprentices to be hired by them

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized an interactive webinar on “Renewed Role of Industry and the Government for Skilled Manpower: Post COVID 19 Perspective” with Shri Praveen Kumar, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.

The objective of the webinar was to understand the immediate issues faced by the industry due to labor and workforce migration; Government support for the Skill training sector to recover after the lockdown and Readiness to provide Online Courses under Skill Development schemes.

Shri Praveen Kumar, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India said that the Ministry of Skill Development will be releasing soon the SOPs for opening and operating of Skill Centres with Social Distancing Norms and will launch the Skill Management Information System while working on Reverse Migrants. He also said that there was a great asymmetry in the information of demand and supply of skilled workers – a need which will be fulfilled by the Skill Management Information System. He said that the skill gap analysis needs to be undertaken and the same requires to be done at the DM level keeping in view the reverse migration of the workforce.

He further added that we are entering the era of Blended learning wherein techniques and technologies like AI and Simulation will be used for learning outcomes;yet he cautioned that we are faced with the challenge of a large section of population not equipped with laptops though smart phones can fill in the gap. Online monitoring of the skilling activities need to be done not for attendance but for the learning outcomes, he added.

He also suggested that the overdependence on the Govt for Skilling needs to pave the way for Fee based programmes. The Secretary shared that ITI Rejuvenation plan is underway on lines of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and welcomed the industry to tie-up with 15000 it is. He also talked about the openness of the Govt to look at the regulatory simplification of the Apprenticeship Act to encourage the Industry for taking up the apprentices for industrial training. He also clarified that Govt is not looking at any bail out package for the Skill Development Industry.

He also talked about the various initiatives taken by the Government of India such as Skill India Mission which has expanded the mission of skill development in the country and its impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the country.

Dr. D K Aggarwal, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in his Presidential remarks talked about the manner in which the labour worksforce has got displaced during these Covid times and the need to ponder over the fact that many of those may not return to their workplaces for months now which may require reskilling re-skilling the workers.

Considering that we have the Covid 19 situation with the Social Distancing norms to be strictly followed, it may be imperative to use Technology to further the cause of skilling especially the classroom sessions and sessions related to demonstrating techniques and imparting skills. The Skill Development Ministry may like to guide the industry and issue necessary guidelines for online skilling for various skilling projects sanctioned under the Skill Development Schemes of the Government of India, the President added.

Mr. Pradeep Multani, Vice President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in his address said we are now witnessing the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, which is taking technology adoption in manufacturing to a whole new level. In India, the adoption of Manufacturing 4.0 is at a nascent stage. The industrial sector is an integral part of ‘Make in India’. Skilling is the most critical and complex component of manufacturing transition; a skilled workforce forms a key element for the adoption of Manufacturing 4.0 which will provide necessary framework for propelling industrial growth and creating a skilled workforce.

He mentioned specifically about the lack of skilled workforce in the AYUSH sector esp. in technical areas and for testing laboratories and considering that it is an emerging sector esp. in the Covid times, there is a need to focus on the same.

The other august panellists who deliberated on “Renewed Role of Industry and the Government for Skilled Manpower: Post COVID 19 Perspective” were Mr. Anil Khaitan, Former President, PHD Chamber, and CMD, Sunil Healthcare Ltd.; Ms. Eika Chaturvedi Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer, Future Learning; Mr. Tushar Mittal, Founder and MD, Studiokon Ventures Pvt Ltd, and Mr Atul Anand, Co Chairman of the International Committee on East Asia, ASEAN and Oceania of PHD Chamber.

Mr. Vishal Jindal, Chairman, Skill and ED Committee, PHD Chamber shared the issues and challenges faced by the industry while also suggesting relief measures and steps to ensure smooth working of the industry in the country especially related to what the industry needs today to survive out of this crisis.

Dr. Rubina Mittal, Co-Chairman, Skill and ED Committee, PHD Chamber, emphasized on the need for giving relief on the financial side for the sector.

Mr. Ajit Kumar Gupta, Co-Chairman, Skill, and ED Committee, PHD Chamber, gave an overall industry outlook with a demand that regulatory framework requires to be eased out for the Industry for employing apprentices.

Mr Atul Anand said that the Govt should look at the viability of the projects related to skill development granted by the Govt.

Mr. Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary-General, PHD Chamber, delivered a formal vote of thanks to all the esteemed panelists, participants and summarised the session.

The Webinar was moderated by Mr. Vivek Seigell, Principal Director, PHD Chamber. The Webinar was attended by senior members of PHD Chamber and over 250 industry stalwarts across the country. It was supported by Shri Balaji Exims and AIPL (Ajit Industries Pvt Ltd).