Eye on skilled labour, govt to start vocational courses in schools

The Centre wants to take its National Skill Development Mission (NSDM) to the school level with training programmes of duration of at least six months.

Apart from studying the usual subjects, school students in higher classes may soon get vocational training as well. The Centre wants to take its National Skill Development Mission (NSDM) to the school level with training programmes of duration of at least six months.

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Both government and private schools, in consultation with the state governments, will be asked to introduce vocational courses.

The Centre plans to create a National Vocational Education Qualification Framework to integrate skill development programmes in school education. A draft cabinet note has already been prepared. “There is a serious challenge of giving vocational training to people who spend less than 12 years in school. The new approach will help achieve this goal,” said a top government official.

Infrastructure, real estate, automobile, textile, health care, retail and logistics are the NSDM’s sectors of focus. The Centre will not provide any fixed module of training but leave it to the states to select programmes that suit local needs and trade.