Union Minister for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Nitin Gadkari lauded the MSME sector and said that it has enormous scope for growth and great potential of becoming export strengths for the country.
While speaking at the closing ceremony of Apprenticeship Pakhwada 2019 on Wednesday Gadkari said, "It is important to understand and map the demand for skilling programs in SME cluster associations in growth areas and industries, especially in the rural, agricultural and tribal areas of the country. The MSME sector has enormous scope for growth and a great need of skilled manpower for sericulture, horticulture, tribal arts and paintings, honey, bamboo, etc, sectors that have great potential of becoming export strengths for the country".
"In fact, we need to reduce our dependence on imports and move towards growing skills in traditional skills that will inch us closer to realizing the ambition of creating a five-trillion dollar economy", he added.
Lauding the initiative to launch the Pakhwada, he added, "Technology, innovation, research and skill go hand in hand and always bring great value. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises will need all the support from the Skill Development Ministry in meeting the demand of its industries. Our efforts should be directed at converting knowledge and skill into wealth".
Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said, "Apprenticeship can provide hands-on training to candidates and provide a better industry exposure to help them gain confidence in a working environment. New job roles will need new skill sets and it is therefore important to inspire the youth to equip themselves with industry-relevant skill sets".
"We are training all our energies in creating a demand-driven model that caters to both industry needs as well as the youth to enable them with the skills necessary for jobs of the future. Together we must all pledge to make apprenticeship a pathway for the creation of a strong and stable workforce, which is extremely important for India to become the five-trillion dollar economy that we have set our sights on", he added, emphasizing the Prime Minister's vision of taking the country on the road to growth.