New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Vocational courses will be introduced phase-wise in schools for classes 9 to 12 to expose students to skill development avenues, as part of the Centre's flagship skilling scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0, according to the Economic Survey 2020-21 tabled in Parliament on Friday.

The Survey for the financial year ending March said merely 2.4 per cent of India's workforce in the age group of 15-59 years have received formal vocational or technical training, while another 8.9 per cent obtained training through informal sources.

"Out of the 8.9 per cent workforce who received non-formal training, the largest chunk is contributed by on-the-job training (3.3 per cent), followed by self-learning (2.5 per cent) and hereditary sources (2.1 per cent) and other sources (1 per cent)," the survey stated.

It said the most sought-after training course by those who received formal training was IT-ITeS among both males and females.

For males, the other preferred courses were electrical-power and electronics, mechanical engineering-strategic manufacturing, automotive, office and business-related work, while those for females included textiles handloom- apparels, office work, healthcare and work related to childcare, nutrition, pre-school and creche.

"A phase-wise introduction of vocational courses in schools shall be initiated in coordination with Ministry of Education. This component shall be implemented for classes 9 to 12 to expose students to skill development avenues," the survey stated.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0 was rolled out in 2020-21 with a tentative target to skill 8 lakh candidates, including migrants.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)