Fighting the growing skill gap

As long as the skill ecosystem remains unavailable, challenges will continue to exist in India, says Preet Sandhu, Chief Operations Officer (COO) of All India Technical and Management Council. 

AITMC is one of India’s paramount advisory bodies. Sandhu feels that strengthening the relationship between education and industry will enable the growth of skill development in India. AITMC is a non-governmental organization which makes you the employable under skill development initiatives. 

While speaking to BW People about the present situation of skills, Sandhu said that India lacks quality trainers and less number of good qualitative teachers are available. She emphasized that in order to revamp the present scenario of youth employment, education and industry must go hand-in-hand. “Currently, there is no awareness regarding skill ecosystem,” she added. 

Speaking on various government initiatives on skill India, Sandhu said that there are many programmes in the government that works toward improving youth employment but government alone cannot do everything. When asked about how AITMC tackles skill shortage, she clarified that government support from Ministry of Labor and Employment has helped them immensely. Also, she spoke about the reverse employment process and employment exchange policy that they follow. 

She detailed over two important components of skilling - training and placement. As a prestigious non-governmental membership based organization, AITMC articulates the interests of industries, entrepreneurs, academic institutions and the youth of India. AITMC plays a persuasive role in crafting and sustaining an environment in which employment and entrepreneurship both flourish. Through the facilitation of partnerships and with an extensive network of influential corporate, individual members, and academic institutions, AITMC provides the resource, knowledge and support that are vital for effective employment. AITMC represents the core philosophy of NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) as it is an affiliated training partner of the corporation. 

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has initiated several schemes under the vision of skill development for our youth: Skill India, Startup India, Make in India etc & AITMC supports these initiatives and has been contributing for the development of Indian youth,” informed Sandhu.  It focuses primarily on auxiliary skill development and provides skill based training. It plays a vital role by providing skill development to more than 2 million people across India through its 27 Centers of Excellence, (CoE). In June, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and AITMC launched “Earn While Learn” to educate and develop the skill set of over 1.5 million youth pan India across industries, and provide them assured livelihood.