Even as a debate rages within the UPA government on the impact that big retail is having on small retailers, the ministry of rural development has identified modern retail as the next big opportunity to provide employment to the youth across rural India. Given the shortage of one million people that modern retail faces for its front-end operations per annum, as per industry chamber Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimates, the ministry has decided to latch on to the opportunity to fill this huge employment vacuum.Speaking to The Indian Express, rural development minister Raghuvansh Prasad said that the emergence of modern retail has opened a plethora of employment options for the rural youth. As part of its ongoing pilot initiative, the ministry has drawn an elaborate skill development structure to train 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh rural youth, where they undergo three-six months’ training, with the government picking up the tab for training, boarding and lodging expenditure for the duration of the programme. The cost per beneficiary — in this case the rural youth — would be between Rs 7,000-8,000. The project for skill development has been formulated and posed for assistance under the special project component of the ministry’s ongoing Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). “We are looking at families below the poverty line, where children are sixth or eighth standard dropouts and don't get admission into a polytechnic or an ITI. We are now in the process of finalizing a structured system of skilled development in which they undergo training for two-three months,” said Rita Sharma, secretary, rural development ministry. The rural youth would be trained by private agencies, contracted by the government for the purpose, in areas like cashiering and front-end operations. However, there is a rider; the private agencies engaged have to ensure placement for a minimum 75 per cent of the beneficiaries trained. The ministry is in the process of finalising the private agencies identified for this purpose. “We are looking at agencies that are training young people in the hospitality, retail, para-medic businesses where you don't need a high level of education. With two months’ training, these people will become employable in many of the malls which are now coming up,” she added. Last year, more than 30,000 young people were trained and out of that 27,000 were placed with the private sector. “Now we are looking at construction-related activities that have spurted a huge demand for skilled workers like plumbers, electricians and masons.”
