Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship upgrades Employability Skills curriculum for Young Learners

way2barak, Sept.6: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) today launched a revamped curriculum on employability skills in association with Quest Alliance, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and various other curriculum bodies within the MSDE ecosystem. This initiative is being supported by the Future Right Skills Network, a collaborative effort by Quest Alliance, Accenture, Cisco and J.P. Morgan.

The curriculum was launched as part of the “Shikshak Parv” celebrations at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in the august presence of Smt. Annpurna Devi, Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar, Minister of State for Education, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Education.

More than 2.5 million students from over 15,600 government and private Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) will benefit from the program which includes a revamped and expanded 120-hour curriculum in Hindi and English. Some of the modules include introduction to employability skills, digital skills, citizenship, diversity and inclusion, career development and goal setting, getting ready for work and entrepreneurship. Variants of the curriculum of 30, 60 and 90 hour duration are also being launched for both long-term and short-term courses.

For young people to be able to keep pace with the fast-changing world they need to keep up-skilling and reskilling. Employability Skills are extremely key in enabling the transition of young people into the world of work with confidence, which is the single most important aspect any employers look for. Hence it needs to be embedded in every skilling program, said Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

The curriculum will provide three key benefits to learners: building a self-learning mindset, becoming career-ready in a post-pandemic world, and developing awareness around new careers and being equipped with 21st century skills. It will also help educators to upgrade their skills for new age classrooms and familiarize themselves with blended learning models. While physical books covering the revamped curriculum are being released now, digital copies for blended learning will be available soon.

Speaking about the new curriculum, Harish Krishnan, Managing Director and Chief Policy Officer, CISCO India and SAARC, said that Digitization is accelerating the need for new skill sets across production, manufacturing, and service industries, and it is important for candidates to keep up with the ever-evolving technology and business landscape. The revamped curriculum is aimed at addressing some of the industry-training gaps and helping youth navigate the future of work as well as improve their employability.

Aakash Sethi, CEO, Quest Alliance said that 12 modules in the curriculum have been chalked out keeping in mind the post-Covid job market and its volatility. The modules help learners build self-learning mindsets and find a place for themselves in new kinds of jobs, such as those in the green and gig economy.”

A facilitator guide will be provided to trainers so that they can teach the revamped curriculum using a blended learning module. A digital version of the student workbook is available on Bharat Skills portal and Employability Skills portal. Additionally, MSDE and National Instructional Media Institute (NIMI) plan to publish these books for use by the state departments.

About the Future Right Skills Network

The Future Right Skills Network is a collaborative effort by Accenture, Cisco and JP Morgan facilitated by Quest Alliance with an overarching mission to make India’s youth future-ready. The network is supported by civil society organizations and state governments in partnership with the Directorate General of Training (DGT) under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The Future Right Skills Network is on a mission to empower young people in technical and vocational training institutes with employability skills for the knowledge economy.

About Quest Alliance

Quest Alliance is a not-for-profit trust that equips young people with 21st century skills by enabling self-learning. We design scalable solutions that enable educators to address critical gaps for quality education and skills training. We facilitate learning networks and collaboration to bring about systemic change fuelled by research and innovation. (https://www.questalliance.net/)