UP can turn demographic dividend into a huge advantage: S Ramadorai, TCS

LUCKNOW: The Vice Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services ( TCS), S Ramadorai said that almost 14% of India's IT-ITeS manpower comes from UP and the state should augment its network of engineering colleges, universities and colleges with courses aligned to industry's needs so that skill development becomes a gamechanger for UP.

" Demographic dividend is an opportunity that UP must not miss specially since this is not available in such extent to any other state except UP. Skilling UP's youth is one big idea whose time has come and the process needs to be accelerated under a mission mode and on a war footing," said S Ramadorai who is also Advisor to the Prime Minister on Skill Development.

"If UP optimally harnesses its human resources by way of skilling them appropriately, the state can look forward to reap a rich demographic dividend given the acute paucity of well-trained people all across the state and beyond" he said.

S Ramadorai said that UP with 20 crore people continues to be India's largest consumer market and should lay renewed focus on agro-processing and manufacturing sectors. Given the large scale construction projects all across the state, training capacity in construction trade needs to be augmented largely in private sector, he stressed.

S Ramadorai said that since the services sector now contributes significantly (45%) to UP's economy, market-led focus on skill development in hospitality, tourism, retail, financial services, education, retail, transportation, real estate and healthcare sectors is also going to be extremely important.

He made some suggestions for skill development in UP among which was to make ITIs more vibrant by rationalising trades, recruiting more faculty and undertaking rapid expansion involving private sector and setting up an apex level and multi-trade institute in Lucknow meant to train vocational teachers.