Skill Ministry undertakes RPL for workers under Department of Panchayati Raj
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is conducting a Recognition of Prior Learning programme for workers with the Department of Panchayati Raj in Chandauli and Varanasi to promote decentralisation and local governance for better planning and implementation of skill development initiatives.
The programme, implemented under SANKALP Programme of MSDE, has been rolled out in Sevapuri and Baragaon blocks in Varanasi that include 167 gram panchayats and in Niyamatabad and Sahabganj blocks in Chandauli that include 160 gram panchayats.
The implementing agency for the programme is National Skill Development Corporation. After initial preparation such as getting trainers onboard, setting up of RPL camps at appropriate locations and mobilization of candidates, training started in the first week of October, 2020.
“Considerable progress has been made since then and nearly 2,250 candidates have been enrolled for training,” an official statement said.
Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey felicitated over 900 workers who have successfully completed their RPL training with skill certification and announced the launch of phase II of the programme at a virtual event on Monday.
Under the partnership, the Ministry is supporting state skill development missions /district skill committees in selection and onboarding of the PIAs and facilitating successful execution of the programme.
Pandey said about 70 per cent of our country’s population resides in rural India and hence the inclusion of gram panchayats is crucial for the success of District Skill Development Plans and will provide a huge fillip to the Skill India Mission.
“Through RPL, we aim to align the competencies of the pre-existing workforce of the country to the standardized framework. We aim to expand this initiative in all villages of India as a key step in the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Skilled India,” said the minister.
The pilot in addition to recognising the skills of the trainees shall also link them with work opportunities emanating from the Gram panchayat’s development work, he added.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme recognizes the value of learning acquired outside a formal setting and provides a government certificate for an individual’s skills.
Candidates receive exposure to concepts of digital and financial literacy and accidental insurance coverage for three years free of cost. No fee is charged from a candidate for participating in the RPL programme and every successfully certified candidate will receive Rs 500.
The learnings from the RPL programme in Chandauli and Varanasi will be incorporated in the national launch of the proposed scheme aiming at getting gram panchayats skill ready for jobs of the future.
This initiative is part of a larger programme on Skill Development Planning at the level of gram panchayat (village council) that focuses on introducing RPL in a structured manner in gram panchayats of various districts across the country.
