Bangalore: India needs about 500 million (50 crore) of cummulative skilled manpower by 2022, of which Maharashtra alone needs 50 million (five crore), a senior Maharashtra government official said. "The country needs about 50 crore of skilled manpower but there is a huge gap today. Presently, India has a training capacity of only 30 lakh people and the need of the hour is aggressive vocational training," said J S Saharia, Principal Secretary, Department of Higher and Technical Education.

The department has already presented a road-map to the Chief Minister and the governor highlighting the measures needed to improve the quality of vocational education that would be system-relevant and employable, Saharia added. According to him, the industry players should join hands with government bodies in this regard. The Directorate General of Employment and Training, Ministry of Labour and Employment and government of India has recently launched the modular employable skills scheme to provide more employment.

The scheme provides vocational training to all above 14-years of age in more than 976 trades over 43 demand-driven sectors with duration ranging from 60-720 hours and flexible training delivery mode.

"Unlike other programs, the MES requires true commitment and dedication over a long span of time, almost a generation. The scheme holds a tremendous potential for the unorganised sector also," said CII Chairman (sub-committee on skill development), Pradeep Bhargava. He also said that the Centre will reimburse the course fees of all students on passing out from the courses under the scheme.