India will need to add 109.73 million people by 2022 to address the needs of 24 crucial sectors in the country even as the paucity of skilled workers has meant recruits from far-flung countries like Peru are today filling the gap in the country.
“A small country like Peru that is 17,000 km away from India is sending people to operate machines like forklifts and cranes in places like Jaipur and Delhi since we do not have the skilled workforce to operate these machines. Such is the severity of the problem,” said Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Launching National Skill Development Corporation’s (NSDC) Sector Skill Gap Reports, Rudy said his ministry has been in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to identify the type of visa issued to people entering the country and the sector they are coming to work in.
Current employment across 24 sectors in the country stands at 460 million and is expected to rise to 580 million by 2022.Currently about 240 million people are engaged in the agricultural sector while 220 million are in the non-agriculture sector. By 2022 agriculture will see a decrease in the number of people engaged to 215 million, while the needs of the non-agri sector is expected to rise to 365 million.
The sector skills gap report is significant as will it serve as the baseline for all skill development initiatives being planned across the country. The top 10 sectors including automobile, retail, handloom, leather, etc account for about 80% of 109 million requirement for skilled labour.
The reports were commissioned by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and authored by consulting firm KPMG. The objective of these skill gap reports was to understand the existing sectoral and geographical spread of skill requirements.
The figures have been estimated on the basis of extensive stakeholder engagement, including small, medium and large enterprises in every sector as well as Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), training providers in the skills space and academia. The skill gap studies provide a granular data on the skill gaps for two time periods- 2013-17 and 2017-22.
Stressing on the need for skilled workforce Rudy added that if Make in India has to be successful the share of manufacturing in GDP has to increase from the current 12.5 % to about 20 % and for that one needs skilled labour. Rudy says as first steps about half a million cola workers are being assessed over the next six years on their skills and certified accordingly.
The Minister added that people leaving the country to work in the Gulf countries were increasingly finding themselves at the wrong end of the law in those countries as their skills were not in commensurate with the local requirements. “For example, if someone goes to a Gulf country to be a driver, he may not be skilled to drive a commercial vehicle in that country. As a result accidents occurs and these individuals have to face the law in such countries – in certain cases even death penalty,” said Rudy.
Rudy said that his Ministry is inking an agreement with the Ministry of External Affairs so that anyone leaving the country and seeking employment abroad will now need to have the necessary skills and a certification from the sector skills councils attached to NSDC.