BENGALURU: For all the hype and hoopla surrounding skill development programmes in the state, Karnataka appears to be lagging in terms of numbers in its efforts to create a more skilled labour force.
These development programmes were launched by the Centre and state in 2017 by creating a separate ministry and department, but in the past five years, Karnataka has trained a paltry 1. 2 lakh people under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and the Chief Minister Kaushalya Karnataka Yojane (CMKKY).
Data from the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) shows the demand-supply gap in Karnataka stands at a staggering 27 lakh. State government data shows the highes enrolment has been under CMKKY with 87,678 people being trained in various sectors. Another 37,131 have been trained under PMKVY.
Ashwin Gowda, managing director, Karnataka Skill Development Corporation (KSDC), said one of the prime reasons for the low numbers is procedural delays in getting the department up and running. “When the department was launched in 2017, we began bringing various skill development programmes of various departments under one head,” Gowda said. “This took us a couple of years. As soon as we were ready to launch, the pandemic was upon us and it delayed a full-scale launch.”
However, officials in the dep artment also admit that there isn’t a great deal of “interest” from aspirants for these programmes despite being “unemployed”. “Despite our best efforts, there is still a lot of indifference among graduates,” said a department official. As per NSDC data, based on their interactions with industry representatives, some 20% to 30% of graduates passing out of Karnataka colleges are “unemployable”. But Gowda said the initiative is picking up pace, with as many as 60,000 people currently in training under the various programmes provided by KSDC.
Data show that under PMKVY, from only 430 people being trained in 2018-19, today the numbers are at 11,408 people as of 2021-22. Similarly, from 4,870 people being trained in 2018-19 under CMKKY, the numbers have risen to 43,609. Gowda said the highest demand is in the fields of IT and ITEs, followed by the garment and apparel sector.
