Skill gap assessment conducted in TN for interventions

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC) has, through a competitive procurement process engaged a leading multi-national auditing company to carry out a “Skill Gap Assessment Study and Action Plan for Tamil Nadu.”

This is the first time such a comprehensive statewide skill gap assessment study has been commissioned in Tamil Nadu, which duly considers block-level information across each of the districts.

The study aimed at identifying sources for wage employment and self-employment (including entrepreneurship) in all the districts, estimate the sector-wise current and future workforce demand up to 2025 by industry and assessing the overall labour supply and estimating the existing and emerging skill gaps.

A senior official from the Higher Education Department said that the study was designed in a manner to offer two insights such as which skills were required to support the state’s economic growth, while also responding to the career aspirations of the youth. Secondly how to design appropriate interventions that would enable active collaboration between various stakeholders for the common good.

According to the official, a quantitative survey covering 11,500 youth and students, including women students in formal education, vocational and skill training institutions (Polytechnics, ITI), and those who fall under the not in education, employment or training category was conducted.

According to the findings, he said, there is an urgent need to converge the interventions and efforts under the institutions to ensure standardisation of approach, quality assurance, market responsiveness,

Quoting the study, he said there is also a case for developing a common Labour Market Information System (LMIS) that will aid effective monitoring of govt programmes, dynamic decision-making and tracking of the available labour force across the state. These efforts can rationalise mutual interaction between the stakeholders.

“There is a dearth of trainers and master trainers across the state and especially in the less developed districts like Dharmapuri, Perambalur, Ariyalur and Virudhunagar,” he said adding that women career aspirants reported concerns about the non-availability of proper transport, sanitation, safety and security at workplaces.

Further, the youth need systematic counselling about the larger economic trends and career prospects, especially about options outside the public sector employment or employment in certain white-collared and high-prospect blue-collared jobs.