Empowerment of youth through skill development was the core of Shri Narendra Modi’s address at the launch of new schemes of the Commissionerate of Employment and Training at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, on the morning of 24th February, 2014.
During the occasion, Shri Modi also launched various schemes of the Employment and Training department, including the i-KVK, Skill certification, e-Skilling, overseas employment and career information centres, additional 165 KVKs and the Kaushalya Rath.
Acknowledging and appreciating the efforts taken by the State government towards empowering the youth, Shri Modi, “The work of a government should be to open doors. Let the youth dream big and aim for the sky. The world does not run on the number of certificates one has, but on the skills our hands have, and the efforts we are making will go a long way in bringing a positive difference in the lives of our youth.” He also spoke of how programmes by the Labour and Employment department were close to his heart, as these focused on empowering the youth and thereby charting the future of our nation.
Shri Modi stated that by giving skills to the youth, they get empowered to bring about a change in the world, and also stressed on the need to inculcate dignity of labour in every person. He said that this was yet another focus area for the State government and the emphasis it laid on developing it is, as much as it laid on developing universities and medical and engineering colleges, proved the government’s commitment at instilling dignity of labour.
Highlighting the innovative schemes launched on the occasion, as a part of the Gujarat government’s Shram Kaushalya Pancham Shri Modi appreciated the pioneering initiative of i-KVK, terming it as an effort of the industry, for the industry, by the industry and beyond the industry. The i-KVK scheme involves the industry to train the manpower it needs with its own resources, while the Government grants the certification. “In the industry, by the industry, for the industry and beyond the industry...this is the Mantra we have given,” stated Shri Modi.
Shri Modi spoke of how the Central government was ineffective in utilizing the budget allocated for skill development, while the Gujarat government had trained thousands of youth in a short span of few years. The initiation of the KVKs was a revolutionary step in this direction, and the additional launch of 165 KVKs on this occasion, took the network of KVKs in Gujarat to over 500. “Our KVK network has expanded. Now, every person in Gujarat's villages will have a KVK in a radius of 15 km,” said Shri Modi.
The recent threat of job war was also addressed by Shri Modi, wherein he stated that while China was keen on assigning its manpower for jobs across the world, we, in India, needed to train the youth with the right skills and guide them in the right direction, so as to enable them seek job opportunities across the globe. “We also hear of job wars. China has taken a big step to capture the job market of the world, but as a youthful nation we can do lots,” said Shri Modi.
“This nation is youthful. We have talented youngsters, and we need to focus on them. We cannot leave the youth to their fate. These days the word ‘job market’ is gaining currency. But have we thought about how we have to address this issue,” asked Shri Modi, while stressing on how tapping the potential of a youthful nation as that of ours was the need-of-the-hour. He further stated that the Gujarat government was focused at addressing the job market by delivering required manpower and talent pool through its innumerable youth-focused initiatives. Shri Modi called for the need to address this disconnect between the industry requirements and available manpower, even as he emphasized on having a vision for grooming the required manpower for the coming decade by providing them with required resources.
Shri Modi also called for the need to make the students of ITI adept with Information and Communication Technology, and stated how the initiation of soft skills programmes by the state government were a step ahead in ensuring this.
The schemes launched digitally on the occasion were i-KVK (industrial Kaushalya Vardhan Kendras to enable the industries train and produce required manpower), Skill certificates certifying the skills of the youth, e-skilling (to promote virtual skilling), overseas employment and career information centres to provide guidance to the youth opting for jobs in foreign countries, 165 KVKs and the Kaushalya Rath (mobile educational institute) which will give education and training to the youth and women of villages in Gujarat.
Shri Modi also gave away certification letters of the e-Skilling scheme. Various MOUs towards ensuring skill development and providing employment were also signed on the occasion.
Dignitaries present on the occasion included Labour and Employment Minister Shri Saurabh Patel, Dr Varesh Sinha, Shrimati Sonal Mishra ji and Shri Sanjay Prasad ji.
