Skill Development - scope

CHAIRMAN’S DESK
India is passing through a phase of unprecedented
demographic change where the working-age
population, aged between 15 and 64,
will rise by around 12 million every year in the next
two decades. In 2020, the average Indian will be
only 29 years old, compared with 37 in China and
the US, 45 in West Europe and 48 in Japan, making
India one of the young nations in the world.
The age advantage of the nation is slated to continue
for at least three decades till 2040. As such,
we indeed have a great opportunity in our hands
to leverage the nation’s young human resource
to help grow our country economically.
This increased labor force will benefit India only
if the population is appropriately skilled. It is estimated
that 90% of jobs in the manufacturing
sector in India are “skill-based” and require vocational
training. However, among Indian youth in
the 15-29 year age group, the proportion of those
who have undergone formal vocational training
is much lower than required.
Government has therefore given top priority to
the agenda of skill development and aims to increase
the percentage of workforce with formal
skills in the coming years. It has set a target of creating
500 million skilled people by 2022, pursuant
to formulation of National Skill Development
Policy 2009.
8 Kaleidoscope July 2013