NSDA to introduce a portal which will track the supply of manpower and demand for job creation.
To assess the impact of vocational training on wages, the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) will also collect data on wages of skilled manpower in the next quinquennial survey of employment and unemployment in the country.

“In its next round of surveys, the NSSO will also have a component on trained and skilled wages so that we can get an understanding of how wages of workers rise with skilling,” said S Ramadorai, chairman, National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) on Friday.

At present, the NSSO survey on employment and unemployment collects data on salaries of persons who are on regular wage employment but not those who are self-employed.

“We have received a number of suggestions from them on some follow-up questions which can be considered for incorporation. But since there is no employment-unemployment survey (at present), I am not in a position to say how that will take place… They have made a number of suggestions, some of them are being looked at,” said TCA Anant, secretary, ministry of statistics and programme implementation.

Apart from collecting data on wages of salaried workers, information on skills is also collected at the household level on parameters such as qualifications and vocational training.

“There is also an establishment survey, which has inter alia information pertaining to employment of people with skills,” Anant told The Indian Express.

Sources said that the NSDA has also asked sector skill councils to collect data on the impact of skilling on workers’ salaries.

Meanwhile, Ramadorai also stressed that while the agency is working on creating a strong skills culture in the country, the Skill India mission would work in tandem with the ‘Make in India’ mission only if the economic situation improves and manufacturing picks up.

“The economy has to pick up, manufacturing must start and then the skill system will feed into that,” he said, adding that each of the sectoral skill councils for manufacturing-related jobs are also working on the issue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign that aims to promote domestic manufacturing is based on the premise of a steady flow of skilled workers in the country.

The National Skill Development Agency chief also announced new initiatives of the agency that include a portal to track domestic supply of manpower and demand for job creation.

“The objective is to weave it around the Digital India platform so workers can access data on where to go and get jobs through their mobile phones,” said Ramadorai.

Termed as the Labour Market Information System, the online portal is aimed at bringing in touch workers, intermediaries and employers across the country.

Skill-Job link – In Key Points

1. At present, the National Sample Survey Organisation survey on employment and unemployment collects data on salaries of persons who are on regular wage employment but not those who are self-employed

2. Apart from collecting data on wages of salaried workers, information on skills is also collected at the household level on parameters such as qualifications and vocational training

3. In its next round of surveys, the National Sample Survey Organisation will also have a component on trained and skilled wages so that the organisation can get an understanding of how wages of workers rise with skilling

Written by Surabhi | New Delhi