New Delhi, September 17, 2021.

In a bid to empower India’s youth and encourage more trainers to join the Skill India Mission, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) today honoured trainers and launched four new trades at a digital conclave organized on the third edition of Kaushalacharya Awards. At the event,41 trainers from Skill India’s several initiatives and training programmes — Directorate General of Training (DGT), Apprenticeship, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS)and Entrepreneurship — were felicitated for their contribution towards creating a future-ready skilled workforce and ensuring that capacity-building is a continued endeavour.

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of Education, said, “It is truly an auspicious occasion today when we get to honour the creator of the universe and the creators of our skill ecosystem. It is important that we lay emphasis on skilling, reskilling and upskilling our youth and all talented people who can work towards nation-building. In the time to come, there will be demand for skilled teachers with upgraded pedagogy, which is modern, scientific, relevant to today’s market demand and of advanced global standards. At the same time, adoption of regional languages while imparting training is absolutely essential. That is when skill training will become truly effective. We must also look at integrating skilling and education at the grassroot level to turn India into a productive economy that can lead the world.”

He further added,“ Trainers and instructors can make a huge difference as they mould the best out of students, enabling them to be truly Aatmanirbhar. An efficient teacher will understand students’ requirements better, and therefore, standardization and training of teachers is of utmost importance to ensure quality of teaching.”

Trainers were honoured for their contribution under various categories. Five trainers were awarded under the two categories of PMKVY Trainer and Excellence in PMKVY Master Trainer. Nine trainers received the award under JSS and two trainers were rewarded for their contribution to entrepreneurship. In addition, five candidates received awards under the apprenticeship category and two trainers were awarded from DGT for non-engineering category. Two awardees were felicitated in Engineering category. Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), pillars of India’s vocational training ecosystem, had as many as 11 trainers who were felicitated.

The event also saw the rollout of four trades under Craftsmen Instructor Training Scheme(CITS) to be taught in National Skill Training Institutes(NSTIs)including Lift & Escalator Mechanic; Computer Aided Embroidery and Designing; Multimedia Animation & Special Effects; and Information Technology, from the 2021-2022 session. On July 15, 53 other trades were also launched training for which is set to begin soon. 

The objective of these courses is to train the workforce for a future-ready ecosystem and create a competitive economy with high-wage jobs. The session for the course will commence from 2021-2022 at five NSTIs with 25 seating capacities each located at Howrah, Noida, Indore, Mumbai, and Bangalore. Four of these five shortlisted NSTIs are exclusively for women.

In the past couple of years, a lot of emphasis has been laid on programmes to train trainers and assessors to ensure the objective of Skill India Mission is realized and the youth get the best and most updated training in their chosen trades. Training of trainers is being provided to exceptional and excellent trainers in National Skill Training Institutes under DGT, various Sector Skill Councils under NSDC, Skill Universities and Private Training Providers.

Furthermore, NSDC in collaboration with Singapore Polytechnic and Tamasek Foundation has developed new guidelines for standardized skill development across the country. Under this, reflective practice and self-directed teaching is being implemented in all training centers and NSDC has certified 45,000 trainers, 26,000 assessors, 3,000 master trainers and 817 leads under 196 job roles from 14 sectors.

DGT has also struck partnerships with leading corporates like SAP, Adobe, Cisco, IBM and NASSCOM to develop industry-oriented courses and has collaborated with National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) to provide advanced training to trainers. The Craft Instructor Training Scheme (CITS) of DGT is aimed at ensuring trainers are provided industry-linked training to meet emerging demands for job roles. This scheme is being implemented in 33 National Skill Training Institute (NSTI), and 18 Institutes of Training Trainers and will train about 12000 trainers every year.

In order to boost skilling at the rural level, Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) implements the Training for Trainers programme under which 2300 JSS are engaged in capacity-building training of over 5,000 skilled individuals to boost training potential in far-flung locations.

Kaushalacharya Awards are a step in this direction. By recognising the contribution of trainers to the Indian skilling ecosystemthe annual event paves the way for more trainers to join the movement. It is aimed at encouraging experienced skilled professionals to play a role in shaping the country’s young minds by leading them on the pathway to better livelihood.