Skill development should be top priority: NSDA chief

Delivering a lecture on Skilling the Nation: Time to Act,he said,“Currently,only 7 per cent of India’s working population is organised,only 2.4 lakh apprentices would find their way into industry,and only 25 per cent of engineers are employable. Big companies often complain about lack of skills among youth,which has to change. It is hard because of socio-cultural differences and attitudes of the past which become a stumbling blocks in development. Providing skills to people should be a national purpose.”

He added,“Private companies need to provide skills and certifying their workers. One such company has already started providing skills to their construction workers,gardeners etc and the government will help in certifying them. This can be replicated by other companies too.”

Ramdorai highlighted that most of the European countries believe in on-job training and offer internships and apprenticeships to students. This practice can also be adopted by many companies in Pune,which is not only a hub of educational institutes but also small scale industries,he added.

“Skill development in India has already suffered a setback due to socio-cultural identity of labourers,but if we follow what Mahatma Gandhi preached – working with hand is working with respect – then we can bring in a nation-wide change,” said Ramdorai.

Describing Pune as an auto hub and a city where lot of small and medium scale industries are based,he said,“What these industries need is not a full time software engineer but someone who can work as a network administrator with some basic IT skills. Pune is also home to some of the best universities. These universities can start vocational training courses for students.”