National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015

The National Policy on Skill Development was first formulated in 2009 and it provided the framework for skill development activities in the country. Over the years, changes in the macro environment, and the experience gained through implementation of various skill development programmes in the country have necessitated changes in the policy. Accordingly, the National Skill Development Policy, 2015 was formulated, and it supercedes the Policy of 2009.

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.

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.This will involve:

• Make quality vocational training aspirational for both youth and employers whereby youth sees it as a matter of choice and employer acknowledges the productivity linked to skilled workforce by paying the requisite premium.
• Ensure both vertical and horizontal pathways to skilled workforce for further growth by providing seamless integration of skill training with formal education.
• Focus on an outcome ­based approach towards quality skilling that on one hand results in increased employability and better livelihoods for individuals, and on the other hand translates into improved productivity across primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.
• Increase the capacity and quality of training infrastructure and trainers to ensure equitable and easy access to every citizen.
• Address human resource needs by aligning supply of skilled workers with sectoral requirements of industry and the country’s strategic priorities including flagship programmes like Make in India.
• Establish an IT based information system for aggregating demand and supply of skilled workforce which can help in matching and connecting supply with demand.
• Promote national standards in the skilling space through active involvement of employers in setting occupational standards, helping develop curriculum, providing apprenticeship opportunities, participating in assessments, and providing gainful employment to skilled workforce with adequate compensation.
• Operationalize a well­ defined quality assurance framework aligned with global standards to facilitate mobility of labour.
• Leverage modern technology to ensure scale, access and outreach, in addition to ease of delivering content and monitoring results.
• Recognise the value of on ­the­ job training, by making apprenticeships in actual work environments an integral part of all skill development efforts.
• Ensure that the skilling needs of the socially and geographically disadvantaged and marginalized groups (like the SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, differently abled persons etc.) are appropriately taken care of.
• Promote increased participation of women in the workforce through appropriate skilling and gender mainstreaming of training.
• Promote commitment and ownership of all stakeholders towards skill development and create an effective coordination mechanism.

The core objective of the entrepreneurship framework is to coordinate and strengthen factors essential for growth of entrepreneurship across the country. This would include:

• Promote entrepreneurship culture and make it aspirational
• Encourage entrepreneurship as a viable career option through advocacy
• Enhance support for potential entrepreneurs through mentorship and networks
• Integrate entrepreneurship education in the formal education system
• Foster innovation­ driven and social entrepreneurship to address the needs of the population at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’
• Ensure ease of doing business by reducing entry and exit barriers
• Facilitate access to finance through credit and market linkages viii. Promote entrepreneurship amongst women
• Broaden the base of entrepreneurial supply by meeting specific needs of both socially and geographically disadvantaged sections of the society including SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, differently­abled persons

Policy framework for skill development

The policy framework has been developed to accomplish the vision of Skill India by adhering to the above objectives. 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
• Promotion of skilling among women

Policy framework for entrepreneurship

The entrepreneurship policy framework has been developed to address the objectives mentioned above. Vibrant entrepreneurship requires support from an enabling ecosystem of culture, finance, expertise, infrastructure, skills and business friendly regulation. Many government and non­government 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 (E­Hubs).
• Catalyse a culture shift to encourage entrepreneurship.
• Encourage entrepreneurship among under­represented groups.
• Promote entrepreneurship amongst women
• Improve ease of doing business.
• Improve access to finance.
• Foster social entrepreneurship and grassroots innovations

Governance

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has been created to fulfill the vision of a ‘Skilled India’ where human resource development is the primary focus. MSDE will be responsible for coordination with all concerned for evolving an appropriate skill development framework, removal of disconnect between demand for, and supply of, skilled manpower, skill up­gradation, building of new skills, innovative thinking and talents for existing and future jobs. MSDE will also play the lead role in ensuring the implementation of the National Policy for Skill development and Entrepreneurship 2015.

Skill development and entrepreneurship are complementary to each other. The key stakeholders include Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments, and industry/employers. There is a need to ensure alignment of the efforts of all stakeholders in skill and entrepreneurship landscape towards a common goal. While, MSDE will co­ordinate and converge all efforts in this space, the relevant Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments and industry/employers are expected to fulfill the roles and responsibilities pertaining to their domain as laid down in the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Financing

National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) has been set up by Government of India with the objective of encouraging skill development in the country. A public Trust set up by Government of India is the custodian of the Fund. The Fund acts as a receptacle for all donations, contribution in cash or kind from all contributors (including Government, multilateral organizations, corporations etc) for furtherance of the objectives of the Fund.

To channelize the interest of a plethora of organisations to participate in the mission of Skill India, a strategic vehicle to create a multiplier effect on skilling has been devised. A ‘Resource Optimization for Skilling at Scale Platform’ has been proposed by the Government to act as a demand­ responsive and flexible vehicle to tackle the issues of skills shortages through skill development, job creation and placement at scale. It will serve as the aggregator vehicle for pooling the funds of multilateral agencies, companies, foundations, NGOs and individuals for skilling interventions by leveraging existing infrastructure and resources. The platform will also be subjected to timely audits to ensure that the contributions are used for the intended purpose.

To attract funds from industry, companies will be encouraged to spend at least 25% of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds on skill development initiatives directly or through NSDF. Further, industry should earmark at least 2% of its payroll bill (including for contract labour) for skill development initiatives in their respective sectors. These funds can be channelized for skill development activities either through respective SSCs or through NSDF.

All Government schemes across sectors will be encouraged to apportion a certain percentage (10%) of the scheme budget towards skilling of human resources in local regions in the required sector. These funds could be used for implementation directly or be routed through NSDF. Government may consider other options including cess etc. to raise funds for meeting the requirements of this sector.

End user funding through a basic fee paying model will also be a key medium for funding training activities. However, the Government believes that the inability to pay training costs should not stop any desirous citizen in the country from acquiring any certified skill training. The government will promote grant of scholarships, rewards and Skill Vouchers (SV) for funding of training costs. It will also be ensured that for all government schemes, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) will be used as a mechanism for payment disbursement.

A Credit Guarantee Fund for skill development and a ‘National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company’ (NCGTC) has been set up to support the initiative of loans for the purpose of skilling and will be used to leverage credit financing in the skill landscape. It will be further expanded to ensure greater outreach and access to all citizens. Similarly, a Credit Guarantee Fund for Entrepreneurship Development worth Rs. 3000 Crore per year has already been initiated under Prime Minister MUDRA Yojna through NCGTC.

Source : Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship