Apparel April 2019 Apparel April 2019 issue | Page 42

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
ALTHOUGH THE DEMOGRAPHIC
IS WELL-SITUATED TO FULFIL THE
LABOUR GAP THAT WILL SOON
FACE THE NATION, THERE IS THE
PERSISTENT PROBLEM OF POOR
LABOUR TRAINING AND SKILLS .
cent of the employable population being in the
productive age group of 20-35 years. MSMEs
have played a significant role so far in supporting
the employment needs of the nation and have
harnessed this immense work pool for direct
economic growth. But without sufficient training,
work skills and education, this potential has
reached its limit and may even pose a liability
going forward.
Overall, the Union Ministry of Labour and
Employment estimates about 3.7 per cent
national unemployment. This presents India
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I APPAREL I
April 2019
as having a peculiar problem of the risk faced
with having a large number of the young and
unemployed. The risk is even greater when we
consider that India is poised to become one
of the fastest growing economies in the next
two years. In some cases, this large and young
labour pool is a benefit as it allows us to scale
up in unprecedented ways for long-term gains;
however, this alone isn’t a reliable factor.
Although the demographic is well-situated
to fulfil the labour gap that will soon face the
nation, there is the persistent problem of poor
labour training and skills. This problem makes the
employment of an effective labour force nearly
impossible as it contributes to low productivity
and losses for MSMEs. The lack in training and
upskilling of the labour force can prove fatal for a
developing economy like India.
SKILL INDIA PROGRAMMES
This problem has been foreseen by the
Government and various schemes have been
launched to rectify the situation. In July 2015, the
Government launched the Skill India campaign
with the goal of training over 400 million people
across the nation in various skills by 2022. The
campaign encompasses a number of varied
initiatives such as the National Skill Development
Mission, National Policy for Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas
Yojana (PMKVY) and the Skill Loan scheme.
These schemes are particularly of importance
to the manufacturing sector which has
consistently been neglected in the wave of a
services-oriented economy. The ‘Make in India’
training schemes will address the skill gap and
labour efficiency problems to bolster the quality