Industries, youth concerned over skills gap in UP

Aneesh Shrivastava, 29, of Pratapgarh completed two professional courses, including a computer course, and applied for a class IV job in a government department but did not get it. He was forced to think about it as his courses and an MA degree could not fetch him a better job.

At a time when skill development is being promoted by the state and central governments, the skewed ratio of skilled manpower and jobs is a contentious issue.

As per data with the state, UP has more than 1.5 million trained workers under the government’s skill development programmes but only over four lakh have got placements. Industries have urged the government to train more people as per the demand.

In a recent skill summit organized by different stakeholders including PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Anuna Education Network, National Skill Development Corporation and Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission, the issue of skill gap was raised and government representatives shared information about initiatives to address the issue.

Vinay Gupta, a textile industrialist, said: “It has been seen that the type of manpower we want is not available. Skill training is still not market-oriented.”

“However, efforts are on and the mindset of youth is also changing,” he said.

Ashutosh Rastogi, a Delhi-based skill development expert, said: “Skills gap will create an army of skilled unemployed youth, which is not a healthy sign for an economy like India. All skill providers have now been linked to a single channel and courses need to be designed and chosen as per industry requirement.”

PHD Chamber of Commerce member Gaurav Prakash said certain issues need to be tackled as soon as possible. “The right job for the right person will bring satisfaction among youths. We have to look for the happiness quotient. And it is only possible, if we work towards providing the right jobs to the right person. It will only happen when people will be trained as per the industry’s requirement,” he added.

Sanjay Sharma, 27, a student at Kanpur-based Prime Minister Kaushal Kendra (PMKK), said: “I am aspiring for a job in the retail sector. I am about to finish my course and expect to get placement next year.”

“I have a master’s degree in history and did a computer course but couldn’t get jobs earlier,” he added.

State MSME minister Siddharthnath Singh recently said that the skill programme has been designed as per the market’s requirement. “Skill providers are made aware of the type of placement options and the youth are also being made aware of this. So, that right person chooses the right course and gets the right job.”

According to NSDC’s latest stats, more than one million people are enrolled in government-sponsored skill programmes while over five lakh are enrolled in fee-based programmes across 75 districts of UP.