Placements under national skill devpt prog abysmally low: Report

New Delhi: Central government's ambitious scheme, Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), aiming to skill the youth of the country, has performed poorly so far as placement of the trained or certified people under the scheme is concerned.

As per government data, under PMKVY 3.0, out of 3,99,860 certified candidates only 30,599 were reportedly placed. Similarly, under PMKVY 2.0, out of the 91,38,665 certified candidates only 21,32,715 candidates were reportedly placed.

Taking note of the poor placement records under the scheme, a parliamentary standing committee observed that despite the revamping of the scheme in its 3.0 version, some of the core issues such as poor placement figures and underutilisation of allocated funds, that plagued PMKVY 2.0, continue to persist in PMKVY 3.0."The committee notes that under PMKVY 3.0, out of 3,99,860 certified candidates only 30,599 were reportedly placed. Similarly, in terms of the financial performance, against the total amount of Rs 686.02 crore released, the actual utilisation of funds has been Rs 294.98 crore only as on June 30, 2022," it said.

Commenting strongly, the committee said that the very purpose of imparting training and certifying the candidates was defeated when placement statistics are abysmally low. "The committee are of the considered opinion that the very purpose of imparting training and certifying the candidates is defeated when placement statistics is abysmally low. Similarly, gross under utilisation of funds undermines the intent of such an important scheme," the report said.

It added: "Needless to say, the Ministry ought to pay serious attention towards addressing the impediments so as to leverage the placement/self-employment of the trained/certified candidates to a sizeable extent as well as to maximise utilisation of the earmarked funds."

As per the report, on the issue of low placements under PMKVY 3.0, the Ministry has clarified that the last date of enrolment under PMKVY 3.0 was 31st March 2022 and the implementation of the training is still underway.

The Ministry has further submitted that some assessments and certifications of the trained candidates are about to be completed and once the same is completed, placements are expected to increase under PMKVY 3.0.