The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) launched Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) in the year 2015. This Scheme was further extended in the year 2016. The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme was to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood. A component for assessment and certification of individuals with prior learning experience or skills was also introduced under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) component of the Scheme. So far, more than 6 lakh individuals have been RPL certified under PMKVY Scheme.
Project Implementing Agency:
PIA can be any legal entity such as SSC, Industry Association, Training Partner, Government Body, NGO and Corporate, except Assessment Agency.
RPL Candidate:RPL is applicable to any candidate of Indian nationality who,
- On the date of enrolment, fits the minimum age criteria as per the Qualification Pack (QP) requirements
- Possesses an Aadhaar Card [verifiable alternate IDs, such as PAN or Voter ID may be applicable for Jammu & / Kashmir (J&K) and certain states in the North-East Region] and a bank account, and
- Fits the pre-screening criteria defined by SSC for the respective job role
WHY RPL
- No fee is charged from a candidate for participating in the RPL program
- RPL recognizes the value of learning acquired outside a formal setting and provides a government certificate for an individual’s skills
- Every successfully certified candidate receives INR 500
- Candidate receive exposure to concepts of digital and financial literacy
- Candidate receive an accidental insurance coverage for three years at free of cost
- Align the competencies of the unregulated sectors of the country with the National Skills Qualification Framework
- Enhance the chances of employment of individuals and provide them with more options for higher education.
- Reduce the inequalities that are present due to the privileges given to some types of skills and knowledge over others.
Significance and the need for RPL:
- A huge section of India’s unorganized workforce are unskilled and semi-skilled. Most of them pick up skills and knowledge in an informal set up by observing people or working under their guidance or through complete self-learning.
- As a result, even though they manage to get a job and earn a decent wage or salary, they may not be able to improve their skills.
- This affects their productivity and quality of output.
- Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can help them get assessed and certified on their current competencies as per NSQF levels.
- RPL also shows them a path to bridge their current knowledge and skill levels to reach a competency level or go for higher skills for professional growth.