Come 2018 and it will become mandatory for all training and skilling programmes in the country to be compliant with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF), according to Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
NSQF is the new competency-based grading system introduced by this government that certifies a learner’s aptitude, skills, and knowledge and it supersedes the Ministry of HRD’s vocational educational qualification framework.
“No government funds will flow after 2017 to skilling companies if they don’t comply with NSQF framework”, added the Minister, stressing that the framework is based on National Occupational Standards and geared to tackle the issue of unemployability of our graduates. Rudy was addressing a gathering of young entrepreneurs at the India opening ceremony of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (#GEW) – an annual week long celebration of start ups and job creators that’s held in 160 countries. IT Industry association NASSCOM is hosting the GEW event in India.
The NSQF is being overseen by the National Skill Development Agency and is an attempt to focus on eduskills. In India, the general education industry and skilling industry have been following divergent paths but NSQF envisages combining skills with management. NSQF, in which both sets of degrees will be aligned, is expected to allow mobility between general education and vocational training.