Maharashtra: More women get skill training than men in two govt projects

According to figures, out of the 3,41,985 youths trained under the scheme, 1,94,931 were women. (Representational photo)

THE PRAMOD Mahajan Skill Development Scheme, launched by the state government in 2015, has so far trained 3.4 lakh youths, almost half of whom are women, according to data provided by the state skill development and entrepreneurship department.

As part of the scheme, the department is integrating all skill development projects and periodically evaluating the same. The government had sanctioned Rs 161 crore towards the scheme in the 2018-19 budget.

According to figures, out of the 3,41,985 youths trained under the scheme, 1,94,931 were women. In all, 1,59,633 youths, including both men and women, have found employment after being trained under the scheme.

Another skill development project, National Urban Livelihood Mission, has also seen more women being trained than men, show official records. While 1.4 lakh people have been trained under this project, 72 per cent of them are women. Among these 1.4 lakh, 22,397 youths have been employed.

Officials attribute this spurt in women’s participation to the government’s ‘Skill Sakhi’ programme. The initiative, launched in 2015, intends to train girls and women in more than 150 vocations through a network of young women community leaders.

An official said, “As many as 22,04,988 youths have been trained in various skills between 2015 and 2018.”