Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)

The Government of India has set an ambitious target for providing skill training to 500 million of its youth by 2022, which is in line with the estimated demand for skilled manpower over the next decade. As per the 2011 Census, India has 55 million potential workers between the ages of 15 and 35 years in rural areas. At the same time, many industrialized nations are facing an ageing population problem. Some of these countries are expected to face a cumulative shortage of 57 million workers by 2020. These numbers represent a historic opportunity for India to transform its demographic surplus into a demographic dividend.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), the skill training and placement program of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and Kerala State (Kudumbashree) occupies a unique position amongst other skill training programmes, due to its focus on the rural poor youth and its emphasis on sustainable employment through the prominence and incentives given to post-placement tracking, retention and career progression. Even as India moves towards becoming an international skills hub, there is a need to acknowledge the challenges preventing the rural poor from taking advantage of this momentous economic transition. Lack of formal education, marketable skills and other constraints imposed by poverty place significant entry barriers to today's job market. DDU-GKY is therefore designed to not only provide high quality skill training opportunities to the rural poor, but also to establish a larger ecosystem that supports trained candidates secure a better future.

Overall Objective

The overall objective of Aajeevika Skill Programme implemented in the State for the year 2016-19 is to initiate trade related Skill Development and Placement Programme in the State and to build skills of 50120 poor rural youth across the state ensuring suitable employment to at least 35882 youths.

There are various interventions that DDU-GKY supports. All are executed with the help of Project Implementing Agency (PIAs) and retention is tracked. These interventions are for:

Eligibility

The target group for DDU-GKY is poor rural youth in the age group of 15-35. However, the upper-age limit for women candidates, and candidates belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), Transgender and other Special Groups like rehabilitated bonded labour, victims of trafficking, manual scavengers, trans-genders, HIV positive persons, etc shall be 45 years.

The poor will be identified by a process called Participatory Identification of Poor (PIP) which is an important component of the NRLM strategy. Till the time poor are identified through the use of PIP, apart from the existing list of Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, youth from MGNREGA worker household with at least 15 days work in the previous financial year by any of its family members, or a youth from a household with RSBY card wherein the details of youth is mentioned in the card, or a youth from households who have been issued Antyodaya Anna Yojana / BPL PDS cards, or a youth from a household where a family member is a member of SHG under NRLM, or a youth from a household covered under auto inclusion parameters as per SECC, 2011 (when notified), shall also be eligible to avail the skilling program even if such youth are not in the BPL list.

Key Activities

Broad Sectors / Trades

Important Features

Skills Gap Assessment (SGA)

SGAs are aimed at identifying GRAMA PANCHAYATH wise demand for skills and placement and at matching candidate numbers in different skill categories with potential for placement.

Job Mela

Job melas will be organized by the KUDUMBASHREE (either directly or with the help of PIAs) at the block and GRAMA PANCHAYATH level to the extent possible. This will bring potential employers and local youth face to face.

Information Education and Communication (IEC)

Appropriate awareness and publicity campaigns will be conducted using local and national electronic/printmedia, road shows, street plays, etc. Particular attention will be given to SC, ST and minority pockets in the rural areas of the state. This could be used for mobilising and selecting beneficiaries and also to bring about awareness about the program amongst both candidates and employers.

Migration Support Centres (MSC)

In many cases DDU-GKY training and placement involves training rural youth and placing them in jobs away from their native districts or even states. KUDUMBASHREE would therefore consider opening MSCs in concentrations where a large number of those trained in the state are working. The MSCs would also be opened within the State to support women from S.C/S.T communities who migrate for work.

Alumni support

KUDUMBASHREE will clear DDU-GKY alumni development strategy, which includes:

Capacity building

Skill development and placement is a new and emerging area for most states. It is therefore important that substantial investments are made to build capacity at all levels. These include capacity building for KUDUMBASHREE staff, PIA staff and trainers.

Monitoring

Monitoring is a continuous measurement of progress (quantity and quality) while the training is on-going. This involves checking and measuring progress, analysing the situation and reacting to new events, opportunities, and issues. Monitoring of an DDU-GKY project needs to be done by the PIA, by the KUDUMBASHREE and by MoRD.

Training

The quality of training is influenced by the quality of infrastructure at the training centres, trainers, content, training methods, finishing and work readiness inputs, assessment and certification. There are a number of steps that the PIA needs to take with respect to each of these.

Infrastructure development

DDU-GKY training centres will have the prescribed:

Trainers selection

Those persons deployed as trainers will have the requisite exposure to the requirement of prospective employers. They should also possess the knowledge, skills and attitude needed to be a good trainer in his/her domain.

Content development

Course content would be in tune with the requirement of industry/trade. These will be certified by the employer if the training is for captive employment. In all other cases it should be certified by National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) or Sector Skills Council (SSC) or any other agency notified for the purpose by MoRD.

Assessment & Certification

Continuous assessment will be an integral part of the course curriculum. This will be in the form of announced and unannounced quizzes, assignments and other types of tests. The questions asked, answers given and marks obtained by each trainee would available in the password protected area of the PIAs web site. Independent certification and assessment by third party agencies of curriculum and the skill, knowledge and attitude level of each trainee as acceptable to the industry or employer will be mandatory. These would include only those agencies that have been empanelled by NCVT/SSC/ notified by MoRD in the case of skills and NIOS in the case of school bridge courses for school drop outs. Own certification in cases of established brands can be used provided it has been approved by MoRD/Kudumbashree in advance.

Placement

DDU-GKY will have the following type of placements

Captive placement- PIAs having their own requirement train and absorb the trained persons in their own organisations.

Placement providing jobs having regular monthly wages at or above the minimum wages: The proof of regular wage employment is demonstrated by the salary slip from the Human Resources department of the organization.

Placement in jobs in foreign countries Placement in jobs which can provide a minimum salary of Rs. 25,000

Post Placement Support (PPS)

PPS will be paid to the trainee in full at the end of each month to the bank account of the working youth on receipt of salary slip. Under no circumstances, PPS would be distributed in cash or kind. PPS money will be released to the PIA as a part of the regular instalment.

Retention Support

It has been observed that those who remain in work for one year are successful in making the transition and very rarely slip back into unemployment. Additional resources are being made available to the PIA for this at the rate of Rs. 3000/- per person retained in employment for 365 days.

Support for Career Progression

A major challenge of DDU-GKY is to assist those placed to progress in their careers. This has been addressed in the form of an additional payment to PIAs at the rate of Rs. 5000/- for every person trained by the PIA who crosses a salary of Rs.15,000/- per month and holds it for a minimum of 90 calendar days within one year of completion of training.

Support for Industry internships

In case of Industry internship program of 12 months duration, a PIA shall be eligible for a grant-in-aid through the CTSA to support the cost of Boarding and Lodging at the rate of Rs. 5000 per candidate and a one-time travel cost for a candidate from the residence to the internship training centre on actual basis with a maximum limit of Rs. 4500.00. The PIA shall pay a stipend of Rs. 3000 per month to each candidate during the period of internship through bank.

Focus on SC/ST, minorities and women

At the State level, 90% of the funds would be earmarked for SCs, STs and minority groups. State will also ensure that at least 3% of beneficiaries are from among persons with disabilities. One third of the persons covered should be women.

Special groups

Though there are no separate targets for special groups such as PWD, victims of trafficking, manual scavengers, trans-gender, rehabilitated bonded labour and other vulnerable groups, State have will develop strategies that address issues of access of special groups who usually get left out. The nature of affirmative action that is required to overcome their challenges and barriers to participation needs to be incorporated into the skill action plan proposed by the State.

Programme Management

KUDUMBASHREE has deployed a dedicated full time team for DDU-GKY in the state, district and sub district levels. The skills team in a State is led by a full time person in the State Headquarters with the rank and powers of a Chief Operating Officer. The team assisting the COO is as follows:

For more details,

DDU-GKY Cell
Kudumbashree
State Poverty Eradication Mission
2nd Floor, TRIDA Rehabilitation Building
Chalakuzhy Road, Medical College PO.
Thiruvananthapuram -695011
Kerala, India. Phone : 91-471-2554714, 15, 16
Fax : 91-471-2334317
E-mail : ajeevikaskills.kerala@gmail.com, info@Kudumbashree.org