By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, AUG 18, 2013: UNION Finance Minister P Chidambaram unveiled the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme that will be implemented on pan-India basis, in New Delhi. The scheme was first proposed by the Finance Minister in the last Union Budget to allocate Rs 1,000 crore for a scheme that will motivate the youth of this country to acquire a vocational skill. The scheme is expected to benefit a million people in the first year of its implementation.

The scheme that is branded as STAR (Standard Training Assessment and Reward) for promotional purposes envisages that a monetary reward that will in essence financially help those who wish to acquire a new skill or upgrade their skills to a higher level.

Launching the Scheme, Mr Chidambaram said that the government is committed to improving the skills of the youth in the country. The STAR scheme that is being launched today is yet another proof of this government's commitment to leaving no stone unturned in achieving the National Skilling Mission target. Mr Chidambaram said that during 2004-05 and 2009-10, 20 million jobs were created in the country and unemployment rate declined from 8.3 percent to 6.6 percent.

He said that with the advancement of technology, the youth need to upgrade their skills for better opportunities. The Minister assured that for skill development of our youth, money will not be a constraint. Mr Chidambaram emphasised that assessment and certification should be based on rigorous norms for ensuring true value to it. He urged the youth of the country and all key decision influencers like parents, teachers, mentors and employers to come forward and make best use of the benefits of this scheme. Mr Chidambaram also presented medallions to three winners of the World Skill Competition (WSC).

The National Skilling Mission envisages adding 500 million skilled Indians by the year 2022. While 150 million are expected to be contributed by the private sector working under National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), 350 million will be contributed by 18-odd ministries at the Centre.

Offering his Ministry's complete support, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said that it is contemplated to skill atleast one youth from each family which had availed of 100 day employment under the under MNREGA scheme. He also urged the sector skill councils and training partners under NSDC in particular to pay more attention to the development in the rural sector.

Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia in his remarks said, while the scheme itself has been created as an inclusive mechanism to benefit people in all walks of life, NSDC has defined skills in the right perspective and delivery of skills is now through an open architecture.

While the scheme envisages covering a million skilled people under this scheme, sufficient processes have also been pre-defined to ensure that the quality of the skill imparted is world-class. The monetary reward is strictly depended on obtaining a certificate that will be issued by qualified assessors after necessary tests have been passed. The skills are also benchmarked to National Occupational Standards that have been developed by NSDC with the support of the Sector Skill Councils.

S Ramadorai, chairman of National Skill Development Corporation and National Skill Development Agency, said, the skilling mission has to be inclusive. The approach must be ‘no Indian will be left behind' if we are to achieve our ambitious National Skilling Mission target.

The major highlights of the scheme are:

• A Rs 1000 crore pan-India scheme launched by the Ministry of Finance

• Branded as STAR – Standard Training Assessment and Reward

• To benefit 1 million people

• Scheme to be implemented by National Skill Development Corporation

• Each tested and certified trainee to get an average of Rs 10,000 to cover training costs.

National Skill Development Corporation, a body under the Ministry of Finance, is one of its kind public private partnership endeavour with 51 per cent equity held by private sector and 49 per cent by the Union Government. Formed in 2010, NSDC is a professionally run not-for-profit company that includes 22 Sector Skill Councils and 87 training partners with over 2500 training centres spread across 352 districts in the country.