Will the Skill Development Mission really change the landscape of India? Or is there a larger systemic change needed to fuel the mission onward? A statement to fortify the former question was made by Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship recently.
Yes, India has massive catchment area for different skills, a human resource dream. The country can become one of the world’s skill capitals if the Skill Development Mission hits their targets and people are trained in different skills. But is that enough? There are thousands of unemployed youth in India right now, so what will change?
Youth can enroll in skill development programmes and learn how to work in hospitality or in mechanical engineering, but conducting themselves in a professional manner and being able to perform at each level is a skillset in itself. The biggest skills sets are language and professionalism. For this, there needs to be grounding from a young age. The biggest roll out, prior to teaching skills, should be a uniform and comprehensive educational system by the government that puts everyone on the same level. The medium of instruction for instance, to become a skilled worker anywhere in the world, would need to be in a universal language. English would have to be the language of choice.
The sharing of ideas and nurturing of the mind, to create entrepreneurs is another aspect of grassroot slevel education that needs to be imparted. If India is to indeed succeed in creating skilled workers, then the bottom is where the programme needs to start.
