This was the sixth MoU signed by the MSDE with a central ministry over the last three days.
Ministries of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Health and Family Welfare have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to address the need for skilled human resources in the health sector.
This development is expected to meet two objectives — achieve the national goals of skilling youth so as to increase their employability, and also upgrade the quality and reach of human and infrastructural resources that form the core of a quality healthcare system.
This was the sixth MoU signed by the MSDE with a central ministry over the last three days.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said that skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development for any country. We are in cognizance of the huge demographic dividend that our country stands to reap at this point in time, and healthcare is one of the most important sectors for us.
According to an NSDC report, the health sector presently employs around 36 lakh employees and is slated to provide jobs to over 74 lakh by 2022— more than double its existing workforce— to meet the market demand. There is a human resource requirement of 38.93 lakh people, which the Minister plans to collectively address with the help and guidance of his senior cabinet colleague, Health and Family Welfare minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda.
Nadda said that the National Healthcare Policy 2015 clearly puts the focus back on the quality, affordability and availability of healthcare in the country.
He added that this can only be achieved by obtaining advanced and innovative technology, supporting available infrastructure and creating a powerful trained and skilled workforce to support the requirements.
Some of the significant aims of the MoU are as under:
• Significantly increase the present capacities in various areas of the health sector to a minimum of one lakh trainees.
• Make significant savings of public resources by way of leveraging the existing infrastructure of government- and private-sector healthcare institutions, to provide training against various short- term job roles.
• Explore the pooling of financial resources of the two departments and allow for international partnerships to provide greater financial muscle to the programme.
• Create a framework of certification by the Health Sector Skill Council, for select job roles and for absorption of the trainees in the health sector.
• Create a framework for recognition of prior learning.
• Allow for seamless vertical and horizontal mobility of trainees at various levels of skill development .
By 2020, India is set to experience a dynamic transition as the population burden of the past turns into a demographic dividend, with 64 per cent of the population in the working age group.
Current predictions suggest a steady increase of the youth population to 464 million by 2021 from 430 million in 2011. The median age is also expected to be 29 years by then, making it one of the youngest countries in the world.
Recognising the need of the hour, the Ministry will be making some strategic announcements in the presence of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, on 15 July, which has been designated as World Youth Skills Day by the UN.
1 Comment
Excellent move to fill the knawing deficit in human support needed in the health sector. The Government systems for selecting people hopefully follws the strict regimentation in the selection process. In terms of skill needs there is ample hospitals and nursing colleges who can be roped in.
The fundamentals of criteria will ofcourse have a basket of attitudes and positive mindset appropriate for this new army of health workers : Patience, Passion, Presence of mind ,Positive thinking and Physical hygience – 5Ps or as
we know in India ‘Panch sheel’