Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Skill Development, urged the health providers to create more employment opportunities not necessarily for high end personnel like doctors and nurses but also for people down the line like ASHA workers, lab technicians, X-ray operators and a host vocations connected to health industry.
Addressing the 14th CII India Health Summit, the Minister said that the effort of industry should be to bring these workers into the formal sector by giving them appropriate training and orientation. In this regard, he mentioned that the Government has simplified the apprentice act and it is no longer mandatory for establishments to take people in the apprentice mode. Instead, they should absorb the young people in the training mode, which can substantially reduce the skill gap they are facing in their day to day operations.
Mr Pradhan said that trained people can be a foreign exchange spinner for India since there is a huge demand for such persons in most of the developed countries. He informed that in the recently signed agreement with Japan for vocational training, there is a provision for training medical attendants. Similarly, industry can motivate hospitals across the world to take Indian technicians and other skilled workers for training and career advancement.
The Minister said that the health skill council headed by Dr Naresh Trehan can be a platform for espousing the cause of training the people to enhance their employability. In the present dispensation where technology is playing a major role in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, considerable number of jobs can be created in sectors like tele-medicine, tele-consultancy and also training the pharmacists manning thousands of medical shops across the country.
Stressing the need for quality healthcare across the country, Mr. Pradhan invited the healthcare providers to have regular interface with the government and concerned authorities not only for enhancing the reach of the health infrastructure, but also for creating job opportunities for millions of people and in enhancing their skill sets.
New Delhi
14 December 2017