A well conceived and a farsighted policy on skill development with a broad based action plan in the state is undoubtedly the need of the hour given the ever-increasing number of unemployed youth. Importantly, half the population is below the age of 25 years signalling an urgency to expedite the process of expanding the job market. This can be done through promoting employability missions, skill progression and entrepreneurship promotion with all requisite support factors.
While doing so, one important consideration is to recognise the diverse economic profile of the main geographical divisions — Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh. Importantly, specific local peculiarities shall have to be the basis for skill planning and implementation based on available scope and capacities build up.
The state of J&K provides a unique model of promoting diverse economic activities and job markets based on a massive campaign of skill development among others. The end objective is to pursue the mission of investing in the intellectual skill development of the unemployed youth in the age band of 15-25 years or so. The critical part for the policy planners is to devise training modules, which in true sense capture employable opportunities influenced by market and circumstantial realities.
Jammu and Kashmir on the whole is bestowed with a huge tourism potential represented by a treasure of beautiful places, mountains, lakes, glaciers, heritage sites, trekking, adventure sports potential, pilgrimage, 700 year old art and craft, water and hydro power generation potential, world famous apple orchards, famous sapphire mines in Kishtwar hills and granite reserves in Uri, Kargil corridor etc.
Our annual tourist traffic in peace times touches many a lakhs. This dominantly is a vast field for creating a wave of skill development and vocational training institutions in the state particularly for meeting the need based requirements of tourism sector and its support sectors including on the front of revival, promotion and protection of Kashmir Art and Craft.
Here comes the critical role of the Department of Technical Education to formulate a Public Private Partnership policy associating local industrialists for establishing skill development institutions. It also justifies encouraging startups in the field. This collaborative stake holding is one of the factors that hold underlying success of the objectives of the mission. J&K Government can be one of the stakeholders contributing by way of allotting state land and also act as a kind of regulatory authority for overseeing operational performance and policy compliance.
The state at present had been witnessing a visible activity in infrastructure building, roads, flyovers and in other sectors. The training modules for multiple skilling with certificated empowerment will have to cover hundreds of activities in such sectors. Skilling training modules need to identify employment scope covering infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, mechanical, electric, electronic and communications, information technology, media and entertainment. Additionally their is a great scope in the areas of medical and dental support services, tourism, travel and hospitality, travel guides, a pool of trained house keepers, receptionists, business process management sectors including creating a pool of trained human resource in the field of Goods and Services Tax advisory and documentation.
A popular 7 o’clock Kashmir news bulletin in Urdu few days back devoted quite a reasonable time slot to record the impressions of the foreign and domestic tourists particularly those who were visiting the valley for the first time. It was a delight to listen to an in-depth assessment by visiting tourists and their enthusiasm about the beauty of the place, human behaviour and handicrafts. Some were praising the hospitality, others highlighting glorious art and craft, yet others on a large scale comparing Kashmir with Switzerland glorifying the valley with a higher grade. A couple of tourists were enjoying a sip of saffron Kehwa on the outer portion of Kashmir Arts showroom near Awantipora.
These deserved praises particularly for the artists with golden hands and minds of all backgrounds carrying this highly skilled livelihood engagement for over 700 years is a testimony of the enormous underlying economic value of our age old art and craft in modern times. J&K has to be on the forefront in seeking its dominant share as a natural consequence in the tourism sector which also forms an integral part of our employment promotion in the art and craft segment.
In the background of all this, the 2017 initiative of the state government to constitute J&K Skill Development Mission (JKSDM) is a historic step. The expediency with which it is holding its mission activities, interactions and assessments, it is certain that JKSDM can gradually endeavour to provide a vast and diverse skilled pool of trained manpower with strong work attitudes, modern and fast changing technology driven employability traits with ethical values and professional dynamism.
More importantly the information dissemination to the target group highlighting the developments in skill development, industry and entrepreneurship at the right time forms a core objective of the mission and in a sense is a pillar for the success of employability endeavours. This will promote a dignified glamorisation of the specific skill programmes, promote widespread interest and forge a close bond of JKSDM with targeted beneficiaries in particular besides all stakeholders. It will promote regular communication and coordination to make the mission successful in its endeavours.
The author, a business columnist, is the former executive president of J&K Bank. He has been actively associated with projects in business and financial studies and youth development.