India aims to create a resource pool of 50 crore skilled workers by 2022, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy said here Monday.Rudy said this at the launch of Sandesh One, the country's biggest platform for women social entrepreneurs, which was described as a "revolutionary movement" by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who formally inaugurated the project.
Sandesh One, a first of its kind public-private partnership (PPP) initiative of the Kerala State Women's Development Corporation (KSWDC), in partnership with IL&FS Skills will train women entrepreneurs and help them set up micro-enterprises offering technologies and solutions at the grassroots level. Rudy pointed out that despite the increase in the size of the labour force in India over the years, only two percent have undergone any skills training.
"The target was to train five crore workers by 2016, and an additional 45 crore between 2017 and 2022. Since 2011, only 1.6 crore people have been given skills training because of lack of good trainers and inadequate training infrastructure. India has a great opportunity to meet the future demands of the world and become a global sourcing hub for skilled workforce," said Rudy, while lauding Kerala for setting up entrepreneurship models for other states to replicate.
Chandy said this project intends to create Sandesh One centres in each of the 1,000 plus local bodies of the state, managed by women trained under an IIM Ahmedabad certification programme in entrepreneurship with a curriculum custom developed by IL&FS Skills."This is a project that can revolutionise the status of women by turning them into resourceful, knowledgeable and successful inpiduals. The fact that it is going to be built upwards from the panchayat level makes it an even more powerful tool for women's empowerment," said Chandy.Dilip H. Chenoy, CEO and MD, National Skill Development Corporation, noted that India has the lowest women workforce participation rate among the BRICS countries.
Sandesh One will offer selected women a six-month long residential training programme focused on developing and improving entrepreneurial skills and knowledge management. The inpiduals will additionally go through a product orientation programme to get familiarised with the products and services offered by the Sandesh One network. Sandesh Centres will promote environment friendly projects, products and solutions to reach the grassroots level.They will help citizens access innovations capable of contributing to the socio-economic development of the state.In the first phase, the project will be launched in Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Alappuzha and Kottayam districts.