SKILL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, The Government of India’s ambitious initiative included turning India into a high-growth and high-productivity middle-income nation. Though India hasn’t been able to transform the dreamt of the plan into reality yet, it would be wrong to say that success hasn’t been achieved in certain forms. India hasn’t been able to utilize its advantage of the demographic dividend to its full power yet, but the skill development programs and schemes have definitely had a positive impact on the youth and they have benefited from it in some way or the other.
The more we give importance to skill development, the more competent will be our youth. – Narendra Modi.
Along with benefiting the Government, the Skill Development Programs have had a major role to play in shaping many lives of those who had enrolled in them. The major advantages that the Government faced were comparatively increased employment, improvement of productivity, more or less balanced growth in all sectors, an awareness of the importance of all kinds of jobs, and bridging the gap between rural, remote India, and urban India. The people who reap the benefits of Skill India are youths primarily, including women and high-school children. One of the best characteristics of the programs is that the courses are available in many languages which makes them accessible to various ethnic groups of the country.
The development of skills at the right age helps students to form a perspective about career choices. It helps them from sitting idle and wasting their prime time of life. Moreover, an idle populace of youth is a burden on the country’s economy. Some of the important skills that the youth learn along with the training stay on for life. Just like the smart study is always preferred over laborious study, it is necessary to develop skills that are in-demand in the job market. Some of the most important skills that the youth learn are critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, and the ability to take responsibility. This in turn makes them able and confident which is very necessary for the industry.
Along with the technical, management, and hard skills that the youth are trained in, they also learn some soft skills which help them to face challenges and solve real-life issues. Some soft skills which hold great value in life are leadership skills, time management, and work-pressure management. Skill development has opened up many avenues in front of the youth other than the mainstream career options which have become saturated nowadays. Possessing skills puts the youth in an advantageous position during the job hunt. The programs have also helped several women, especially from the rural areas as they are often forced to drop out of schools due to family responsibilities. From being trapped in a cycle of poverty, quite a few of them have attained financial independence. It won’t be wrong to say that we are slowly proceeding towards our Prime Minister’s dream.
Shouma Banerjee
(Volunteer)
