INTRODUCTION:Skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development of a country.

In rapidly growing economies like India with a vast and ever-increasing population, the problem is two-fold. On one hand, there is a severe paucity of highly-trained, quality labour, while on the other; large sections of the population possess little or no job skills. As the Indian economy continues to transform and mature, large scale sectoral shifts in the working population are inevitable, particularly from agriculture to other sectors of the economy. These sectors, however, require significantly different and often specialist skill sets, which require training and skill development. This skill gap needs to be addressed through comprehensive efforts, at various levels and catering to different needs of the society and industry. However, if India is to fully harness her demographic dividend, these skill development efforts need to be managed in a focused and coordinated manner. Currently, skill development efforts are spread across approximately 20 separate ministries, 35 State Governments and Union Territories and the private sector. With this as a primary objective, the Office of the Advisor to the Prime Minister on PMs National Council on Skill Development has been set up with the mandate to:

Develop a strategy for skill development at the national level, along with variations at the state level. Map the gaps in the area of skill development and develop strategies to address the skill deficit. Identify new areas for employability and promote skill development in such sectors. Advise on remodeling of existing skill development programmes run by various ministries. Promote greater use of Information Communications Technology in the area of skill development. Develop and implement an action plan for skill development to maximize job generation within the country and create human resources for global needs. Provide guidance through the Prime Ministers National Council on Skill Development for activities to be undertaken by the Centre and the States and by the National Skill Development Corporation.

Skill Development - Meaning and Focus

The objective of Skill Development is to create a workforce empowered with the necessary and continuously upgraded skills, knowledge and internationally recognized qualifications to gain access to decent employment and ensure Indias competitiveness in the dynamic global market. It aims at increasing the productivity and employability of workforce (wage and self-employed) both in the organized and the unorganized sectors. It seeks increased participation of youth, women, disabled and other disadvantaged sections and to synergize efforts of various sectors and reform the present system with the enhanced capability to adapt to changing technologies and labour market demands.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Skill development is of key importance in stimulating a sustainable development process and can make a contribution in facilitating the transition from an informal to formal economy. It is also essential to address the opportunities and challenges to meet new demands of changing economies and new technologies in the context of globalization. Skills development can help build a virtuous circle in which the quality and relevance of education and training for women and men fuels the innovation, investment, technological change, enterprise development, economic diversification and competitiveness that economies need to accelerate the creation of more jobs.

Company Profile
IL&FS Skills Development Corporation Limited (IL&FS Skills) is part of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) group. IL&FS is one of the Indias leading infrastructure and finance companies (www.ilfsindia.com). The company is promoted by the IL&FS group as part of its large scale social infrastructure initiative under the realm of IL&FS Education and Technology Services Limited (IETS) in partnership with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). IL&FS Skills is one of the largest Public Private Partnership model set up in the Skill Training and Vocational Education arena of India. IL&FS Skills is establishing 100 IL&FS Institute of Skills offering training in multiple trades across India. These Institutes are established at Industrial Clusters (Skilled Labour Demand Areas), and Labour Supply Areas. The trades in which training is offered is categorized into specialized industry trades that would be specific to the industry cluster where the Institute of Skills is based, General Engineering and Service trades.

Core Competencies
Our core competencies include the following: Strong linkages with job market Industry simulated training environment and infrastructure Short term placement linked programmes Innovative training delivery mechanism Qualified and experienced trainers Curriculum mapped with NSDC norms Continuous endeavors to improve the course design Direct and meaningful interaction between the trainers and participants

Started in 1997 as School net, IL&FS Education and Technology Services Limited (IL&FS Education) is the Social Infrastructure arm of IL&FS Group (www.ilfsindia.com). Leveraging our corporate strength we manage large scale programmes focused on Education, Skill Development, Healthcare and Cluster Development in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Through our work we are not only stimulating the education and skilling space but also working

with small and medium enterprises to create jobs. We follow a holistic development approach to ensure that the impact our work creates is long term and sustainable. This model has been recognised by McKinsey Society as one of the top two initiatives aimed at faster and inclusive growth. Currently, we work with more than 10 Central and 25 State Government departments, Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), Multi- National Agencies and other Private companies as a partner in their social development goals. Together with our subsidiary companies, IL&FS Skills and IL&FS Clusters we have impacted over 800,000 people in 27 states of India. We are also present in 15 countries of Africa offering services in education, skills and sustainable agriculture.

Community & Supplementary Education

IL&FS Education has core competencies across employability, livelihood, skill development and education. Using these competencies, IL&FS Education partners with corporates and helps them roll out CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities with livelihood and social intentions We offer :

Turn-key implementation Project management Comprehensive advisory Impact assessment We have an expertise in impact assessment that sets us apart. We have been actively working in the areas of community and supplementary education. We have successfully implemented mandates that aim at imparting soft skills, life management skills and computer skills to the students of government institutions and the community across the country Apart from our work with UNICEF some highlights of our CSR activities include:

Saath-Saath This programme runs on the thoughts that all children have a right to an education that nurtures their potential and the dedication and commitment of the community woman along with appropriate training can transform her into a quality teacher. Saath-Saath offers a systematic learning programme for school children and transforms them into successful, confident and responsible citizens. Saath-Saath also transforms women of the Self Help Groups into enabling teachers and effective administrators. Parivartan This programme aims to reach quality education to children of the community, with a special focus on English, Math, Science, Life Skills and Computer Education. Project Parivartan also

envisages developing employability skills in the youth, facilitating linkages of the community with existing government schemes and programs that strengthen social infrastructure

Skill Development: -

The Skills Initiatives Group within IL&FS Education catalyses, facilitates and manages large scale, demand-driven skills training and placement programs, to alleviate poverty in rural areas, to connect industries in need of skilled workers with trained personnel and to address employability issues in both Private and Public Sectors.

IL&FS Education uses sustainable skill development and vocational training initiatives to create inclusive economic growth for the poor and most vulnerable sections of Indian society

We bridge skills gaps across service sectors and supplement the nation's economic growth rate flawlessly. We believe in providing a sustainable skill delivery system that supports the inclusive economic growth agenda of the nation and leverages the advantage of Indias demographic dividend

We work through a unique public private partnership (PPP) model wherein we establish strategic partnerships with the various stakeholders from industry, training bodies, and non-governmental organisations, states and central government and leverage our relationship to provide skill training and employability

Our unique skill delivery process begins with the identification of jobs and ends with the placement of trained youth in various manufacturing industries like textiles, leather, engineering, construction and services sector industry. With the support of Ministry of Rural Development, IETS has trained and placed over 2, 00,000 rural below poverty line (BPL) youth.

Cluster Development: -

IL&FS Education aims to provide commercially sustainable integrated solutions for development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) through a cluster based Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach that enables them to become globally competitive Our methodology begins with identifying the critical constraints in clusters through in-depth diagnostic studies. We organise the MSMEs in the form of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), and develop and execute the identified projects in PPP mode. We focus on a commercially driven approach with strong institutional frameworks We have a high degree of expertise in the development, implementation, financing and management of cluster development Initiatives across a wide range of sectors especially involving diverse and multiple stakeholders. We also offer advisory services for capacity building, skill development, technology support and market linkages

We have been actively working with various ministries of government of India, state governments, industry chambers & associations, leading entrepreneurs, banks/ financial institutions, technical institutions and other stakeholders

Cluster Development: -

IL&FS Education offers innovative methods and technologies to deliver healthcare in remote areas of India and leverages information, communication and technology to extend healthcare services through customised programme management services and by leveraging the use of ICT in the health sector. At IL&FS we understand the healthcare needs of the communities both in India and in the developing countries. The outages and challenges faced in provisioning comprehensive healthcare for the common citizens especially in rural areas require innovation and lateral thinking. Our experts provide end to end solution in integrating from a single source, taking care of all processes including infrastructural, medical, technology, capacity building along with policy reengineering under the PPP format. We stand at the forefront in providing healthcare services to rural citizens by adopting advances in medical sciences and its convergence with ICT. We offer low cost telemedicine solutions that are rapidly scalable to all parts of the country for fulfilling the primary and preventive healthcare needs of the rural population and enabling seamless access to quality healthcare services. We play a significant role in revolutionising the use of telemedicine technologies for providing healthcare services to the un-reached rural population across India. Our models have been studied by planning commission of India as sustainable approach for rural healthcare service deliveries and have been recommended for the 12th five year plan of the country.

E-Governance: -

The IL&FS Education e-Governance group facilitates better governance by improving service delivery to citizens and businesses by reorienting government employees. Having gained considerable expertise of the national e-Governance Plan (NeGP) through an extended association, IL&FS Education brings on-board the capability of analysing, and helping overcome, limiting factors and impediments for propagating e-Governance in India using information technology, capital, strategy and procurement. IL&FS Education (IETS) offers unique ideas and advanced technologies to deliver a wide range of scalable, reliable, robust and state-of-the-art solutions and applications. Leveraging upon this expertise IETS has partnered with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), for setting up "BSNL Broadband Gram-Seva Kendras" in across rural areas of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu. Through this initiative, IL&FS Education has brought the internet knowledge and e-services at the doorstep of rural India. Through this partnering initiative, IETS has been proactively working for the benefit of the villagers by providing broadband kiosks to rural and remote areas of the country through existing rural wire line exchanges of BSNL. These rural broadband kiosks allow full triple play (voice, video and data) services to the rural customers. Apart from internet surfing, the kiosks also offer various value added services to the rural populace in form of, utility bill payments, railway ticketing and useful mobile downloads.

In addition, these kiosks also offer vital information on areas of local interest such as agricultural trading, education on crops and micro finance.

The IETS Group as a kiosk partner with BSNL has been working proactively in:

Establishing Broadband Kiosks Identifying, short listing locations and make provision for the required infrastructure to establish and operationalise the broadband kiosks

Selection of Kiosk Franchisee Identifying and short listing of entrepreneurs to act as Kiosk Franchisee to run the broadband kiosk business

Training of Kiosk Franchisee Providing training to the identified Kiosk Franchisees to enable them to effectively run the kiosk business

Establishment of Backend Infrastructure Establishing the required backend infrastructure to manage and monitor the broadband kiosk centrally

Content & Service Provider Activation Identifying relevant content and services that can be offered through the broadband kiosks to enable kiosk sustainability

Establishment of Call Center Establishing a centralised call center to address the grievances and extend support for the kiosk franchisees

Operationalizing and Maintenance of Kiosk Franchisee Operating and maintaining the kiosk for the entire project duration as specified by BSNL and ensure sustainability over a period of time

Monitoring Monitoring the Kiosks to ensure smooth operations and develop a suitable escalation mechanism to address any query/complaints

IL&FS Education aims to provide commercially sustainable integrated solutions for development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME), through a cluster based Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach that enables them to become globally competitive Our methodology begins with identifying the critical constraints in clusters through in-depth diagnostic studies. We organise the MSMEs in the form of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), and develop and execute the identified projects in PPP mode. We focus on a commercially driven approach with strong institutional frameworks We have a high degree of expertise in the development, implementation, financing and management of cluster development Initiatives across a wide range of sectors especially involving diverse and multiple stakeholders. We also offer advisory services for capacity building, skill development, technology support and market linkages We have been actively working with various ministries of government of India, state governments, industry chambers & associations, leading entrepreneurs, banks/ financial institutions, technical institutions and other stakeholders