Skill Based Education
Skill development is key feature in every individual’s life if he/she want to be employed. Every country needs individuals with higher level of skills and educational qualification. Education for the sake of attaining a degree is not desirable considering the increase in educated unemployment in the country which calls for a greater reflection at what guides the aims and objectives of education at individual and national level. Attaining a degree is surely a sign of formal education but merely attaining a degree no more guarantees individual growth, social stability or financial security.
The main aim of skill based learning is to raise confidence, improve productivity and give direction through proper skill development. Skill development will enable the youth to get good jobs. Development of skills is very essential for the individual’s as it channelize them for proper job opportunities. There should be a balanced and stabilized growth in all the sectors and all the jobs should be given equal importance. Every job aspirant would be given training in soft skills to lead a proper and very decent life. Skill development would reach all the areas of skill. Corporate institutes, different non-government organizations, Government institutions would help in the overall development of youths so they can achieve good goals in their life through the use of these skills.
Objectives of Skill based learning:
1. Strengthening the general education component of vocational education programs.
2. Providing good basic knowledge in humanities and sciences, preparing students to be able to work in different professions, teaching students to be problem solvers and encouraging them to be lifelong learners.
3.Allowing greater cost-sharing i.e. moving from a system which is exclusively financed by the government to a system which is increasingly financed by the private sector –who would be willing to do so if it sees the system producing relevant graduates – and the students paying user fees. Students are unlikely to contribute if they do not see accrual of labour market benefits from vocational education.
Benefits of skill based education:
1. If individuals get educated trough skill based learning they can produce better results and earn more money.
2. Education and training improves an individual’s employability and labour motility, and it also increases the individual’s ability to adapt changing technologies.
3. Ample education and great skills influence the path of national economic development attract investment from abroad and promote growth.
4. Countries that have a greater share of educated and very skilled work forces have raised productivity at very higher pace.
5. Education and training generate other significant and great social benefits – reduced dependence on income support for the unemployed individual’s, reduced incidence of crime, improved lawful behaviour and health awareness among them.
Different types of Skills:
i. Analysing skills
ii.Decision making skills
iii. Adaptability skills
iv. Negotiating skills
v. Organising and Planning skills
vi. Persuading skills
vii. Leadership skil
Organizations for skill development:
i. National Skill Development Agency (NSDA)
ii. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
iii. International Training Centre (ITC)
i. National Skill Development Agency (NSDA)
National Skill Development Agency(NSDA) is an autonomous body under Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship that anchors the National Skill Qualifications Framework and allied quality assurance mechanisms for synergizing skill initiatives in the country. The National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) attempts to increase Employability of Youth in India. It is a fully autonomous body, constituted on the approval of Union Cabinet of India. On May 9, 2013,[2] the Union Cabinet gave its nod to form NSDA.
The Union Cabinet of India held a meeting on January 31, 2013 in which the proposal for building the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) was first endorsed, after the suggested plan was reviewed by a Group of Ministers. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government approved the proposal.
ii. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a not-for-profit public limited company incorporated on July 31, 2008 under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (corresponding to section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013). NSDC was set up by Ministry of Finance as Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The Government of India through Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) holds 49% of the share capital of NSDC, while the private sector has the balance 51% of the share capital. The National Skill Development Corporation provides skill development funding either as loans or equity, and supports financial incentives to select private sector initiatives to improve financial viability through tax breaks etc.
NSDC aims to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of large, quality and for-profit vocational institutions. Further, the organisation provides funding to build scalable and profitable vocational training initiatives. Its mandate is also to enable support system which focuses on quality assurance, information systems and train the trainer academies either directly or through partnerships. NSDC acts as a catalyst in skill development by providing funding to enterprises, companies and organizations that provide skill training. It also develops appropriate models to enhance, support and coordinate private sector initiatives. The differentiated focus on 21 sectors under NSDC’s purview and its understanding of their viability will make every sector attractive to private investment.
The NSDC was set up as a Public Private Partnership Company in order to create and fund vocational training institutions, and create support systems for skills development.
In light of the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax in 2017, NSDC and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) collaborated to train over 100,000 people as GST experts to help the corporate sector with accounts work. The NSDC has trained more than 5.2 million students, and it has also created 235 private sector partnerships and 38 Sector Skill Councils (SSC) in various industries.
Projects and collaborations
It is estimated that by 2022 India will need an additional 104 million people in the workforce with a further 298 million requiring upgrade in training. NSDC has also partnered with Amazon’s “meri saheli” initiative to improve the digital literacy of women. Together with Google India, it has launched a program to train people on mobile development, via a 100-hour course to be delivered though partner agencies.
NSDC also signed a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs to train people within CSR, corporate governance, business innovation, e-governance and other skills.Other partners include the Adani Foundation,Uber and Maruti.
iii. International Training Center (ITC)
The overall objective of ITC Academy is to strengthen individuals capacities to improve the relevance, effectiveness and efficiency of their skills development systems, policies, and related programmes, to respond to the needs of the individual, society, and the economy.
Skill Development Ecosystem in India
The skill development ecosystem in India is complex, large and diverse, providing varied levels of skills across an extremely heterogeneous population. Skill development in India can be broadly segmented into Education and Vocational Training. The exhibit below presents the broad framework of Skill Development in India.
Elementary, secondary and higher education is governed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. University and Higher Education caters to all college education (Arts, Science, Commerce, etc.), while engineering education, polytechnics, etc. fall under Technical Education. University Grants Commission (UGC) is the nodal body governing funds, grants and setting standards for teaching, examination and research in Universities, and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is the regulatory body for Technical Education in India.
Skills in India are acquired through both formal and informal channels. Formal vocational training is imparted in both public and private sector. Some of the major channels of formal vocation training include the government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), privately operated Industrial Training Centres (ITCs), vocational schools, specialized institutes for technical training, and apprenticeship training by the industry. The private sector participation has been on a rise lately, but the sector continues to be dominated by the public sector. Informal training on the other hand refers to experiential skills acquired on the job. At the central level, the nodal institution for vocational training is the Director General of Employment & Training (DGET) under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The DGET is responsible for formulating policies, establishing standards, granting affiliation, trade testing and certification, and matters connected to vocational training and providing employment services. The National Skill Development Council (NSDC) – now a part of the newly created Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship – was initially set up under the Ministry of Finance to provide viability gap funding and promote private skill initiatives.
Policy framework
The policy framework governing the skill development ecosystem in India includes the
i. Apprentices Act, 1961
ii. the National Skill Policy
iii. the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
Nodal bodies for Skill Development in India
i. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
The creation of the first-ever separate Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2014. It is conceived to encompass all other ministries to work in a unified way, set common standards, as well as coordinate and streamline the functioning of different organisations working for skill development. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is entrusted to make broad policies for all other ministries’ skill development initiatives and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). Mapping and certifying skills, market research and designing curriculum, encouraging education in entrepreneurship, make policies for boosting soft skills and computer education to bridge the demand and supply gaps are among the other goals.
MHRD
The Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) governs the polytechnic institutions offering diploma level courses under various disciplines such as engineering and technology, pharmacy, architecture, applied arts and crafts and hotel management. MHRD is also involved in the scheme of Apprenticeship Training. Apart from this, MHRD has also introduced vocational education from class IX onwards, and provides financial assistance for engaging with industry/SSCs for assessment, certification and training.
ii. Central Ministries
There are 21 Ministries under the central government who are also working for the purpose of skill development. There are two approaches that these Ministries have: one approach is setting up training centres of their own for specific sectors like (adopted by Ministry of Labour & Employment, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, etc.). The second approach is in the form of Public Private Partnership (as adopted by Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Women and Child Development, etc.).
iii. NSDC
The National Skill Development Corporation India (NSDC) is a public private partnership organisation (now under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship) that was incorporated in 2009 under the National Skill Policy. Its main aim is to provide viability gap funding to private sector in order to scale up training capacity. The NSDC has tied up with more than 187 training providers, many of whom have started scaling up their operations. The NSDC has also been entrusted to set up SSCs ensuring right representation of employers and to extend financial support to operationalise them. It also undertakes research initiatives, pilot projects, and skill gap studies to create a knowledge base for the sector. They have supported and incubated 31 SSCs that is intended to facilitate the much needed participation and ownership of the industry to ensure needs-based training programmes. The National Skills Development Agency (NSDA) is working with the State governments to rejuvenate and synergise skilling efforts in the State. The National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) has been anchored at NSDA and efforts have been initiated to align all skilling and education outcomes with the competency based NSQF levels.
The NSDC’s mandate also involves capacity building by working with different stakeholders and identifying best practices to create an excellence model. The NSDC has also been working to create awareness about the skill ecosystem and has rolled out electronic and print campaigns.
iv. Sector Skill Councils
The National Skill Development Policy of 2009 mandated the NSDC to setup SSCs to bring together key stakeholders i.e. industry, work force and academia. As on date, 29 SSCs are operational and 4 more SSCs have been approved by NSDC1 . They are funded by NSDC for the initial few years and are expected to become financially self-sustaining as they grow. These SSCs are expected to lay down the National Occupational Standards for different levels of jobs in their respective sectors, formulate certification and accreditation norms, strive to create knowledge repository on current requirement of skill development in the industry, assess the supply of skilled workers, identify the demand and supply gap in each sector, and identify trends and future requirements. With availability of trainers being a major challenge in scaling up the capacity, SSCs are also expected to play a crucial role in getting right industry support to facilitate training of trainers for their respective sectors.
v. NCVT, SCVT and Quality Council of India
Established under Ministry of Labour and Employment with a view to ensure and maintain uniformity in the standards of training all over the country, the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) was set up in 1956. This certifying body conducts All India Trade Tests for those who complete training in ITIs and awards National Trade Certificates to successful candidates. The Council has representation from central and state government departments, employers’ and workers’ organisations, professional and learned bodies, All India Council for Technical Education, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, All India Women’s Organisation, among others. The State Council for Vocational Training (SCVT) at the state levels and the sub committees have been established to assist the National Council. The Quality Council of India (QCI) was set up jointly by Government of India and the Indian industry as an autonomous body to establish a national accreditation structure in the field of education, healthcare, environment protection, governance, social sectors, infrastructure, vocational training and other areas that have significant bearing in improving the quality of life. All institutions (Government and private ITIs) seeking formal affiliation from NCVT have to first get accreditation from the Quality Council of India.
Implementing agencies
i. Industrial Training Institutes
The DGET which governs Industrial Training Institutions (ITIs) has recently been aligned with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. There are more than 10,000 ITIs with a capacity of approximately 1.5 million seats. The DGET also governs RVTIs (Regional Vocational Training Institutions) and ATIs (Advance Training Institutions) focusing on specialized and high-end skill sets and trainers courses. Three major skill development schemes of the DGET that are being implemented through government ITIs and private ITCs include the Craftsmen Training Scheme, the Apprenticeship Training Scheme, and the Modular Employability Scheme.
a) Craftsmen Training Scheme
The scheme is being run in over 10,000 institutes with a seating capacity of about 1.3 million. The training is available for about 116 trades and the course generally has duration of 2 years. The courses generally require a minimum educational qualification of having passed the 10th or 12th grade (some trades accept students who have passed the 8th grade). Under these schemes, emphasis is largely on the practical aspects, with practical to theory teaching ratio being 70:30.
b) Apprenticeship Training Scheme
As mentioned earlier, around 27,000 establishments are providing apprenticeship training to 211,632 youths (for 2013-14). The training usually varies between 6 months to 4 years. The minimum educational qualification is different for different trades. For some trades, educational qualification is SSC passed or equivalent, whereas for some it is two classes below SSC. There is provision of Apprenticeship Training for ex-ITI students based on a biannual national level test.
c) Modular Employable Skills
The programme was initiated in 2007 with the objective of expanding the outreach of the training facilities to school dropouts and in recognition of need for prior learning of workers in the unorganized sector. The target workers include those who have left school after 5th or 6th grade or have acquired on-job-training but do not have formal certification. Under this scheme, short duration courses are provided to prospective trainees using both government and private infrastructure. 1,402 modules covering more than 60 sectors have been developed, 36 Assessing Bodies empanelled for conducting assessment, 6,951 Vocational Training Providers (VTPs) registered and more than 1.35 million persons have been trained/tested up to 31.3.2012. Private Training Service Providers The private sector has been taking various initiatives on its own and in collaboration with the government and international entities, to upgrade in-house training facilities and also to provide training to potential employees to make them job-ready. Many large corporations like Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Group, Hero Group, Maruti, ITC, Infrastructure Leasing & Finance Services Ltd. etc., have established training facilities that offer world-class training programmes. The government provides partial support in funding by way of sponsoring the tuition fee of the students. NSDC has 203 training partners under its PPP module, which include for-profit as well as non-profit entities. In the last four years, these training partners have trained over 2 million people in more than 25 sectors, at 2500+ fixed and mobile centres, in over 350 districts across the country.
Schemes for skill development
1. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
It is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme is to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood. Individuals with prior learning experience or skills will also be assessed and certified under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Under this Scheme, Training and Assessment fees are completely paid by the Government.
2. SANKALP
SANKALP is an outcome oriented project supported by World Bank. The project will focus on the overall skilling ecosystem covering both Central (MSDE, NSDA and NSDC) and State agencies, and outcomes will be measured through Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) agreed between MSDE and the Bank. A DLI verification protocol has also been established to measure DLIs on a periodic basis. Under SANKALP four key result areas have been identified viz: (i) Institutional Strengthening; (ii) Quality Assurance; (iii) Inclusion; and (iv) Expanding Skills through PPPs.
The SANKALP program consists of four objectives: (i) Strengthened institutional mechanisms at National and State levels to guide planning, delivery and monitoring of market relevant training; (ii) Improved Quality and Market Relevance of SD programs; (iii) Improved access to and completion of skills training for female trainees and other disadvantaged groups; and (iv) Expanding skills training through private-public partnerships (PPPs). SANKALP project has two broad components (a) National and (b) State component. There are two phases to this Scheme-the first is the initial Rs 4000 crore and the second phase starts with Rs 2200 crore. The second stage is termed as STRIVE (Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement).
3. UDAAN
Udaan is a Special Industry Initiative for Jammu & Kashmir in the nature of partnership between the corporates of India and Ministry of Home Affairs and implemented by National Skill Development Corporation. The programme aims to provide skills training and enhance the employability of unemployed youth of J&K. The Scheme covers graduates, post graduates and three year engineering diploma holders. It has two objectives:
(i) To provide an exposure to the unemployed graduates to the best of Corporate India;
(ii) To provide Corporate India, an exposure to the rich talent pool available in the State.
The key stakeholders are:
i) Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) – Chief Benefactors
ii) State Government (Jammu & Kashmir)
iii) Corporates – Training Partners
iv) Implementation Agency (IA) NSDC
4. Standard Training Assessment and Reward (STAR) Scheme
The National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme, known as STAR (Standard Training Assessment and Reward),was operational between August 2013 and September 2014.
NSDC is the designated implementing agency of the scheme and is working through various Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), Training Providers (TPs) and independent Assessment Agencies (AAs).
5. Grameen Kaushalya Yojana or DDU-GKY
It is a Government of India youth employment scheme.
It was launched on 25 September 2014 by Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Venkaiah Naidu on the occasion of 98th birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. The Vision of DDU-GKY is to “Transform rural poor youth into an economically independent and globally relevant workforce”. It aims to target youth, in the age group of 15–35 years. DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), tasked with the dual objectives of adding diversity to the incomes of rural poor families and cater to the career aspirations of rural youth.
6. National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (2015)
The National Policy on Skill Development was first formulated in 2009 and it provided the framework for skill development activities in the country. Over the years, changes in the macro environment, and the experience gained through implementation of various skill development programmes in the country have necessitated changes in the policy. Accordingly, the National Skill Development Policy, 2015 was formulated, and it supercedes the Policy of 2009. The objective of the National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015 is to meet the challenge of skilling at scale with speed and standard (quality). It aims to provide an umbrella framework to all skilling activities being carried out within the country, to align them to common standards and link the skilling with demand centres. In addition to laying down the objectives and expected outcomes, the effort is also be to identify the various institutional frameworks which can act as the vehicle to reach the expected outcomes. The national policy also provide clarity and coherence on how skill development efforts across the country can be aligned within the existing institutional arrangements.This policy links skills development to improved employability and productivity.
7. Financial Assistance for Skill Training of Persons with Disabilities
The Scheme aims at providing financial assistance for skill training for persons with disabilities. The scheme will cover Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) with not less than 40% disability and having a disability certificate to this effect issued by a competent medical authority.
30% reservation for women candidates: As an endeavour to encourage women, 30% of the total intake of each training program shall be earmarked for women candidates.
The scheme will operate through training institutions recognised by this Department as per the eligibility conditions contained in this scheme.
8. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme
Apprenticeship Training is considered to be one of the most efficient ways to develop skilled manpower for the country. It provides for an industry led, practice oriented, effective and efficient mode of formal training. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme is to promote apprenticeship training in the country. The scheme was commenced from 1st October, 2016. The main objective of the scheme is to promote apprenticeship training and to increase the engagement of apprentices from present 2.3 lakh to 50 lakh cumulatively by 2020.
9. Craftsmen Training Scheme
The Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGE&T) in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India initiated Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) in 1950 by establishing about 50 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for imparting skills in various vocational trades to meet the skilled manpower requirements for technology and industrial growth of the country. Several new private ITIs were established in 1980’s in southern states mostly in Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, etc. from where trained craftsmen found placement mainly in Gulf countries. In 1980, there were 830 ITIs and the number rose to 1900 ITIs in 1987. During 1990’s, the growth of ITIs had been steep and in 2014, there are over 10,750 ITIs (2275 in Govt. & 8475 in Private Sector) having a total seating capacity of 15.22 lakhs.
Under the constitution of India, Vocational training is the concurrent subject of both Central and State Governments. The development of training schemes at National level, evolution of policy, laying of training standards, norms, conducting of examinations, certification, etc. are the responsibilities of the Central Government, whereas the implementation of the training schemes largely rests with the State Govts./UT Administrators.
10. Apprenticeship training
The Apprentices Act, 1961 was enacted with the objective of regulating the programme of training of apprentices in the industry by utilizing the facilities available therein for imparting on-the-job training. The Act makes it obligatory for employers in specified industries to engage apprentices in designated trades to impart Apprenticeship Training on the job in industry to youth and person having National Trade certificate issued by National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) to develop skilled manpower for the industry.
11. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra
Vocational training needs to be made aspirational to transform India into the skill capital of the world. In line with the same, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) intends to establish visible and aspirational Model Training Centres (MTCs) in every district of the country. NSDC is the implementation agency for the project. These training centres will be state-of-the-art Model Training Centres, called as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra ( PMKK ).
12. Skill development for minorities
The Ministry of Minority Affairs is implementing the following schemes for skill development of youth belonging to minority communities.
i. Seekho aur Kamao (Learn & Earn)
This is a placement linked skill development scheme implemented since 2013-14 for minorities aiming to upgrade the skills of minority youth in various modern/traditional skills depending upon their qualification, present economic trends and market potential, which can earn them suitable employment or make them suitably skilled to go for self-employment. The scheme ensures placements of minimum 75% trainees, out of which at least 50% placement is in organized sector. The scheme is implemented through selected Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) all over the country.
ii. Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/ Crafts for Development (USTTAD)
Scheme has been launched on 14th May, 2015 to preserve the rich heritage of traditional arts/crafts of minorities.
The scheme aims at
• capacity building and updating the traditional skills of master craftsmen/artisans
• documentation of identified traditional arts/crafts of minorities; set standards for traditional skills
• training of minority youths in various identified traditional arts/crafts through master craftsmen; and
• develop national and international market linkages.
The PIA has to organize training programmme which shall be supported with following activities to ensure that the desired outcomes are achieved for preservation of traditional art/craft, establishment of market linkages and generating interest among young generation for taking up traditional arts/crafts as a profession.
iii. Nai Manzil
Scheme has been launched on 8th August, 2015 with an aims to benefit the minority youth who do not have a formal school leaving certificate i.e. those in the category of school dropouts or educated in the community education institutions like Madarsas, in order to provide them formal education and skills, and enable them to seek better employment in the organized sector and thus to equip them for better lives.
iv. Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills
Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS), established on 11/11/2014 works towards meeting all skill up-gradation/development needs of Minority Communities. MANAS provides an all India level training framework based upon tie-ups with Local/National/International training organisations on PPP model, for imparting training to the Minority population in skill sets that are in line with emerging market demands. The training programme is aimed at providing meaningful and sustainable livelihood options in terms of self-employment/wage employment opportunities to all its trainees, with primary focus on self-employment.
MANAS also provides concessional credit for minority community after meeting their Skilling Needs for expanding their existing businesses and setting up new businesses.
13. Green Skill Development Programme
The Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is an initiative for skill development in the environment and forest sector to enable India’s youth to get gainful employment and/or self-employment.
The programme endeavours to develop green skilled workers having technical knowledge and commitment to sustainable development. It will help in the attainment of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), National Biodiversity Targets (NBTs), as well as Waste Management Rules (2016). The pilot project of GSDP was launched in June, 2017, for skilling Biodiversity Conservationists (Basic Course) and Para-taxonomists (Advance Course) of 3 months duration each at 10 locations, spread over 9 bio-geographic regions of the country. 94 trainees successfully completed the basic course qualifying as skilled Biodiversity Conservationists and 152 Trainees completed the Advanced Course qualifying as skilled Para-taxonomists. ENVIS RPs in Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and their respective regional offices were the nodal Centres for the pilot programme.
Based on the feedback received from the stakeholders, the GSDP is being scaled up to an all-India level.
The Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP) has been conceptualised and developed in MoEF&CC in consultation with the National Skill Development Agency. The number of people to be covered under GSDP will be 80,000 during 2018-19, 2.25 lakh during 2019-20 and about 5 lakh people by the year 2021.
More than 30 programmes have been identified, which will be conducted in 84 institutions across the country.
14. Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills
Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills (SHREYAS) is a central government scheme for providing industry apprenticeship opportunities to the general graduates exiting in April 2019 through the National Apprenticeship Promotional Scheme (NAPS). The program aims to enhance the employability of Indian youth by providing ‘on the job work exposure’ and earning of stipend.
SHREYAS is a programme basket comprising the initiatives of three Central Ministries, namely the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and the Ministry of Labour & Employment viz the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), the National Career Service (NCS) and introduction of BA/BSc/BCom (Professional) courses in the higher educational institutions.
