GJSCI Launches RPL Program (Recognition of Prior Learning)
The first step to
uplift the Karigars in the
Gems & Jewellery Sector
Mumbai, 4th May
2016: Gems & Jewellery Skill Council of India launched the RPL Program
(Recognition of Prior Learning) as the first step to uplift the Karigars in the
Gems & Jewellery Sector alongwith an awareness Ad Film during a conference
at Indian Merchants Chamber in presence of Industry Thought leaders
like Prem Kumar Kothari, Chairman, GJSCI, Binit Bhatt, C.O.O, GJSCI, Vijay
Waghmare, C.E.O, Maharashtra State Skill Development Society, Clement Chauvet,
Chief Skill & Business Development, United Nations Development Programme,
Nisha Savara, Rural Politician & President of Asamant Foundation, Clement
Chauvet, Chief Skill & Business Development, United Nations Development
Programme, Pravin Shankar Pandya, Chairman, GJEPC and Prabodh Thakkar,
President, Indian Merchants' Chamber.
The release of a
documentary that depicts the life of an Indian artisan that highlights the
benefit of the program was followed by the unveiling of ‘Nurture’, an
installation that signifies GJSCI's vision to nurture talent in the industry.
It was curated by differently abled artists who are undergoing training for
various job roles under the aegis of GJSCI. The event furthermore included
certification ceremony for candidates who completed some of GJSCI’s 86
qualification pack.
GJSCI has been
relentlessly contributing towards Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Skill
India program and has been taking several measures and steps to nurture the 3.5
million skilled yet uncertified labourforce of the gems and jewellery industry.
Identified as one of the priority sectors by the Government, this industry
contributes 6% to 7% of the nation's GDP and according to NSDC &
ICRA and is expected to grow by 100% in terms of manpower requirement and
will have job openings for another 3.5 million candidates by 2022. On the other
hand, the unstructured nature of the industry where artisans who contribute
majorly to the jewellery creation process have inherited skills but no
certifications and ironically live quite a lackluster life with everyday
struggle to make ends meet in the otherwise glamorous industry. RPL program
will help candidates to identify their inherited skills and get certified for
the same which will equip them to get better and more stable jobs and avail
ofentrepreneurship opportunities. While struggling to make a living many of
them switch careers to upgrade their lives. Need of the hour is to bring a
change in an artisan’s life to ensure that they are retained in the industry as
with them will also die several Indian jewellery making styles and techniques.
‘At GJSCI our aim is to create awareness and counsel
candidates about career choices and prep them to enrol for courses. RPL program
will play a very important role to achieve this aim. We have so far trained
80,000 plus candidates and certified 20,000 plus candidates in RPL. We
have a massive target of training 2.7 million individuals and at the same time
attract bright talent to create a career in the industry that has several roles
and job opportunities to offer. Also, The nation needs to recognize the latent
talent that has been present in the gems and jewellery industry through
RPL’, said Mr. Binit Bhatt, C.O.O, GJSCI at the event.
‘We are working towards ensuring that a skilled & certified
labour force is created in the industry which has the right work environment
which ensures their financial and physical wellbeing apart from increasing their productive. For this initiative we are
constantly working with several state governments. RPL is the first step for an
individual to explore career choices in the industry on the other hand our
initiative Dakshagram will play as a catalyst towards the transition of the
Gems & Jewellery Industry from being unorganised to organised.’, said Prem
Kothari, Chairman, GJSCI.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):The Recognition of Prior Learning programme identifies
previous learnings, often experiential and recognises the talent towards
gaining a qualification. Jewellery manufacturing organisations employing
artisans experienced through non-formal learning channels can opt to get their
employees certified as per national standards and understand their skillsets in
order to build on what they have learnt. There are mainly two types of
RPL viz. Scheme & Non-Scheme, both are almost similar, the only difference
is that RPL under Scheme offers reward money on being assessed and successfully
certified and Non-Scheme doesn’t.
Dakshagraam : The Dakshagraam Jewellery Manufacturing and Training
Centre is a proposed model to provide a good working environment for artisans
and designed to minimize the risk of holding high inventory at the artisans’
workshops, provide a safe work environment, improve productivity, reduce the
manufacturing lead time and improve product quality. It will also help
the gem and jewellery industry in retaining its artisans as well as attracting
new talent.
Binit Bhatt, Chief
Operation Officer, Gems & Jewellery Council of India (GJSCI)
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