Industry should take up skill development : Nair

Kochi, June 23 (UNI) Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr T K A Nair, today said the industry should take initiatives to develop people's skills to reduce 'educated unemployment' in the country.

Addressing a conclave of businessmen here, Mr Nair said there was shortage of skilled manpower and presence of 'educated unemployment', and the industry had a key role to play in skill development to tap human resources.

Skill development was not only the prerogative of the government establishments but also those in the private sector.

''India had a large reservoir of young population and if skill development programmes were channelled properly, we could be the provider of skilled manpower to the world,'' he added.

Later, inaugurating the golden jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Mangement Association, Mr Nair said business managers had a greater importance due to the interdependence of countries in the present globalised economy.

''Professionalism in management was imperative, as the Indian economy was getting more and more intergrated with the global economy,'' Mr Nair said.

He said bolder initiatives to carve out professional managers should come not from the 'government structure' but from outside.

''The government and its administration are working under certain constraints and they can only show the way. It is up to the private sector to move forward,'' Mr Nair noted.

UNI