NEW DELHI: An MoU between the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) was signed here on Monday to facilitate strategic partnership on skill development and entrepreneurship for supporting skill development initiative to contribute towards nation building and ‘Make-in-India’ initiative.
The MoU was signed between the Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar and his counterpart from MSDE, Sunil Arora in the presence of the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Minister of State for MSDE (independent charge) Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Speaking on the occasion, Parrikar said that the MoU will provide impetus to using the skills of servicemen for the country when they retire from the armed forces. “ The servicemen will also take to civilian life some rare skills which they acquire during their service life,” said an official. According to Rudy, there are differences in nomenclature of jobs in certain cases that the servicemen do in the armed forces and the civilian field and these need to be aligned. He expressed confidence that the MoU will be a harbinger of skill development in the country.
MoD officials said the MoU will boost employability and acceptability of ex-servicemen (ESM) by the industry for those service personnel, who are on the verge of retirement or already retired. Moreover, to enhance their employability, these training facilities initiated by the Director General Resettlement (DGR) will be aligned with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) developed by the Sector Skill Councils (SSCs).
The MoU, will provide an opportunity for the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factories to participate in skill development initiatives. As per the HRD Ministry Scheme in schools which are run by the MoD (excluding Sainik Schools), it will also introduce vocational education from Class IX - XII in a phased manner, the MoD further said.
The MoU signed will train and provide gainful employment to approximately three lakh former defence personnel and their family members in five years starting from this financial year. It will also make available skilled youth to the defence public sectors and Ordnance Factories. At the apex level, a steering committee chaired by the Defence Minister and co-chaired by the Minister of State for Skill Development will provide necessary policy direction for the implementation of the ambitious scheme.