The Centre has decided to track female graduates enrolled in the skills mission programme in order to gauge its impact on increasing female participation at work. Female graduate’s career progression will also be tracked to see the program’s impact.
The centre had rolled out the third phase of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana in January across 600 districts with an initial budget of Rs 950 crore. The period is expected to be extended with larger allocations.
The initiative is in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to decent work and gender equality.
“While India has adopted the SDGs, participation of women in India’s workforce has been much lower than in other countries. The MSDE aims to implement a tracer study to look at the employment outcomes of women candidates that have passed out from short-term skill training programmes," the ministry said in a document, asking third parties to participate in the exercise, as reported by a leading daily.
Participation of women in the Indian workforce has been a matter of concern for a long time. The study is expected to examine employment opportunities present for women after the completion of the skill training. The study will also take a look at the challenges faced by female graduates.
“Given the nature of the survey, a tracer study can provide valuable information on what has happened to a group of candidates that have passed out after completing a skill development programme. This would further help gauge the employability of candidates and seek feedback from them in improving the skill development programmes," the ministry document said as reported by the daily.
