Sachin Tendulkar bats for 'Respect for Skills'

Prime Minister’s Skill India Mission is all set to get a major boost with Sachin Tendulkar endorsing the ‘I Support Skill India’ campaign of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

Conceptualised by Ogilvy India, MSDE’s ‘I Support Skill India’ campaign is an endeavour to galvanise all stakeholders across States, organisation, and industries to bring value and respect to skills and standardise the ecosystem to address human resource requirements across the national and globally. Overall, the Ministry aims to raise the standard of living for many at the lower rung of the pyramid by ensuring better wages and dignity of labour.

Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director, Ogilvy South Asia, said, “I am honoured to be associated with the ‘I Support Skill India’ programme as I think it is an important part for the development drive of India.   We have a lot of talent in this country which needs to be trained and made ready to live up to India’s dream of a happy and prosperous country. I am glad that Sachin has chosen to be one of the leads in sharing with people of India that degrees are not the only thing that matter, happiness is achieved by each one of us taking pride in what we may be good at. I hope every youngster gets the message and becomes as skilled in the area of his/her interest as Sachin is in his field of expertise.”

Commenting on endorsement by Tendulkar, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “It is imperative that we build respect for skills and that is exactly the idea behind our new campaign. It is important that we come together as a society and recognise the need for skilled workforce in our day to day life. Our new campaign is a step towards sensitising the society and achieving our mandate of creating a skilled India.”

He further said, “Sachin is one of the greatest Indian stories of our times and someone who resonates the best with skills. He is a true global icon and brand that disrupted the game of cricket through his skill sets and inspired generations.”

Elaborating on the relevance of skills and his association with Skill India, Tendulkar stated, “When I was approached for endorsing Skill India, I realised that it is an important component in one’s personal growth that needs to be valued and mastered. We are a young nation and we have the potential in us. We just need to learn a skill that is driven by our passion and turn it into an opportunity for us. Skill India is a big opportunity extended to all. We should avail it to its best.”

Rohit Nandan, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, remarked, “It was found during our skill development efforts across the country that while capacity for trained labour was increasing, the aspiration among the young people to join a skill development programme was lacking. Most young people did not believe that there is a career in skill development and that the skill certificate was actually valuable. People always thought there was merit in a degree without a job than a job without the degree. MSDE wanted to use a communications methodology to reach out to the young people and show them that there is a value in the skills certificate which would lead to a career progression and recognise prior learning – a certificate that can be their companion for life.”

The Ministry’s target is to Skill 40.2 crore youth by the year 2022. It had also introduced its flagship scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, which is the world’s largest monetary reward scheme promoting skill development to those who need financial support.