Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana or DDU-GKY is a Government of India youth employment scheme. The Vision of DDU-GKY is to “Transform rural poor youth into an economically independent and globally relevant workforce”. It aims to target youth, in the age group of 15–35 years. DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), tasked with the dual objectives of adding diversity to the incomes of rural poor families and cater to the career aspirations of rural youth.

Body:

Objectives of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

• Enable Poor and Marginalized to Access Benefits
  • Demand led skill training at no cost to the rural poor
• Inclusive Program Design
  • Mandatory coverage of socially disadvantaged groups (SC/ST 50%; Minority 15%; Women 33%)
• Shifting Emphasis from Training to Career Progression
  • Pioneers in providing incentives for job retention, career progression and foreign placements
• Greater Support for Placed Candidates
  • Post-placement support, migration support and alumni network
• Proactive Approach to Build Placement Partnerships
  • Guaranteed Placement for at least 75% trained candidates
• Enhancing the Capacity of Implementation Partners
  • Nurturing new training service providers and developing their skills
• Regional Focus
  • Greater emphasis on projects for poor rural youth in Jammu and Kashmir (HIMAYAT),
  • The North-East region and 27 Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) districts (ROSHINI)
• Standards-led Delivery
  • All program activities are subject to Standard Operating Procedures that are not open to interpretation by local inspectors. All inspections are supported by geo-tagged, time stamped videos/photographs.

Appraisal of the scheme:

• Fills Gap of Skill-deficit: It is estimated that only 4.69% of the total workforce in India has undergone formal skill training as compared to 68% in UK, 75% in Germany, 52% in USA, 80% in Japan and 96% in South Korea. On the other side, there is a demand of 109.73 million skilled manpower by 2022 in twenty-four key sectors. Therefore DDU-GKY seeks to fill this gap by imparting specific set of Modular Employable Skills (MES) needed to access full time jobs in the formal sector.
• Inclusive: All candidates who hail from poor families, and are between the ages of 15 and 35 years, are eligible for the training programs. For women and other vulnerable groups like persons with disabilities, the upper age limit is relaxed to 45 years.
• Diverse: DDU-GKY is industry agnostic. That said, its current training partners offer training programs in over 82 sectors, covering over 450 job-roles or trades. Candidates can only choose from skills offered in their vicinity/ assigned projects in their district
• Free-of-Cost: DDU-GKY subsidizes 100% cost of skill training of candidates at its approved training centres implemented by its PIAs in sanctioned projects. There are no fees. There are no registration charges. There are no examination or certification charges. There are no placement charges. However, candidates are required to attend all classes and OJT, put in hard work and effort to learn a trade and achieve a minimum of 70% marks in the final exam to pass.
• Certificates after Completion: a government recognized certificate upon successful completion of the training will be provided. In the case of training programs implemented under NCVT curricula, NCVT through its accredited assessors will perform the external assessment on completion of the duration of the course and provide the necessary co-branded certification upon passing.
• Placement Guarantee: Under DDU-GKY, the training partners are mandated to place atleast 75% of the successful candidates in jobs, offering a minimum salary (CTC) of Rs. 6000 per month. This amount will include any incentive or facility the company will provide you with like transport or meals or accommodation etc. Else, the applicable charge may be deducted from your monthly salary.

Conclusion:

DDU-GKY provides demand-driven placement-linked skill training so that candidates can learn a new skill, earn their way to new identity, gain respect and fulfil their income and career aspirations. It has the potential to transform rural poor youth into an economically independent and globally relevant workforce and help reap India its demographic dividend.