The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) today organized a digital conclave for the second edition of Kaushalacharya Samadar 2020. The trainers across different sectors were felicitated for their exceptional contribution in building country’s skilling ecosystem and preparing a future-ready workforce. The occasion was addressed by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi’s addressing note for the country’s trainers appreciating their persistent hard work and the tenacity in ensuring that the aspirations of today’s youth are kept alive with apt skill training for their bright tomorrow.

In his written address, Honorable Prime Minister congratulated all the awardees. He stated that it is the government’s skill agenda to create a workforce that matches the global demands and with this vision, several efforts have been undertaken to enable a strong skill development ecosystem. The whole nation has come together under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ mission and it is also the need of the hour to be self- reliant for every Indian, as we live in the changing times. There are many sectors witnessing the growing demand for skilled youth. This is an opportunity for our young workforce to convert the present challenges into opportunities and become the strong pillars of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. It is integral that we lay enough emphasis on skilling, reskilling and upskilling. In this endeavor, the role of trainers and experts is most essential and crucial. Hon’ble Prime Minister said that it is my belief that the trainers who are awarded today will inspire many others and will continue to contribute immensely in the lives of our youth and the country’s development.

A total of 92 trainers from diverse backgrounds across geographies from different categories such as Entrepreneurship training, National Apprenticeship Promotional Scheme (NAPS), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), Short Term Training under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Long Term Training under Directorate General of Training (DGT) and Industrial Training Centres (ITI) were felicitated at the digital conclave held today.

Under Entrepreneurship Training Category, 3 candidates were awarded for their job role of Entrepreneurship Trainer, 15 candidates under JSS for their job roles in Apparel Training, Beauty Wellness & Healthcare Training, Handicraft Training and more. Further, 14 trainers were awarded under the Short Term Training for their contribution in Electronics & Hardware Training, Apparel Training, Logistics Training, and others. 44 candidates were awarded under Long Term Training and 15 corporates were recognized and awarded for their contribution towards National Apprenticeship Promotional Scheme (NAPS).

Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Hon’ble Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said “We thank our honorable Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi for sharing a note of appreciation for our excellent trainers and building their morale. The importance given to a ‘guru’ or a teacher in our culture showcases the integral role they play in shaping the lives of the students. Similarly, the skill trainers are playing an important part in accelerating the skilling ecosystem and in molding the future of our youth in the right direction. As the times are transforming, the role of trainers and assessors is becoming more crucial as they pave the roadmap for our young generating in meeting the industry demands of near future. I would like to congratulate all the awardees and we are extremely proud of our trainers for their devotion towards creating a globally competitive skilled workforce, helped us accomplish several milestones in the last five years. I am confident that we will continue our pursuit of excellence and with skilling, upskilling, and reskilling get closer to fulling the vision of Aatmnirbhar Bharat.”

The Skill Ministry’s ‘Kaushalacharya Samadar’, an annual event embraces and recognizes the contribution made by skill trainers in the vocational training ecosystem. By 2022 it is estimated India will need about 2.5 lakh trainers across the skilling ecosystem. Under its flagship program Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), MSDE has been working relentlessly to ensure high standards of skilling for trainers and on their capacity building, so they are able to meet the demands of near future.

During the current pandemic, it is with the help of these trainers that ITIs and JSS institutions played a vital role in our fight against COVID-19 through their research and innovation. ITI, Berhampur developed UVC Sanitizer and ITI Cuttack an Automatic Sanitizer Dispensing Machine. Also, JSS and other institutions have developed a special type of robot, automatic sanitizer machine PPE kits, etc, to make significant contribution towards the society.

Besides Training of Craft Instructors, DGT has collaborated with various industry partners in the ecosystem for training programs. IBM India is conducting Train-The-Trainer Program on Basic Artificial Intelligence Skills program in 7 NSTI locations to train 4167 ITI instructors from over 900 ITIs from Sep 2019 until March, 2020. One master Trainer from 26 NSTIs have been trained for the same and the target is to train 10,000 instructors from ITIs and NSTIs till 2024. For training on Data Sciences, collaboration with SAP will train the trainers of NSTI/ ITI on Data Sciences and trainers will downstream train youths. Master Trainers have been trained in 5 NSTIs and 1500 trainees have been trained so far. Further, Cisco, Accenture and Quest Alliance conducted instructors training in IT essentials for NSTI instructors. With support from NASSCOM, Capacity Building through Instructor Training (ToT) is being finalized with customized training in Domain area by Certified Master Trainer.

7000 instructors have been trained under Adobe spark. Under the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) -13462 ITI Instructors were trained across the country in Short Term Training on NSQF Compliance in Level I, II and III. The National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) is actively engaged in providing Entrepreneurship Skills for the Trainers.

Nowadays entrepreneurship is vital and integral part of vocational training, accordingly DGT has managed to train the instructors NSTI’s, Government and Private ITIs to equip them with proper entrepreneurship skills with their training in the premier institute in the NIESBUD at Noida and Dehradun centres. Total of 648 instructors have been trained with entrepreneurship skills. These train structures would impart entrepreneurship chapter to the trainees of ITI s and NSTIs.

Corporates and universities along with international organizations like Temasek Foundation and Singapore Polytechnic have helped in bolstering capacity-building programs for trainers and assessors. There is a well-established network of National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) which utilizes its own capacity and infrastructure to achieve greater convergence between the long-term and short-term skill training ecosystem. Under the new framework of National Education Policy 2020 also, the teacher is at the center of the fundamental reforms in the education system. In order to successfully engage training providers in the skilling agenda, Skill India has further collaborated with various corporates to strengthen the trainers and assessors in skill development to continue the momentum.