Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The ‘Skill Hub Initiative’ under the PMKVY focuses on the introduction of skill training programmes in the education ecosystems. The Initiative would consider the policy level synergy on integration of vocational education with general education as envisioned in the NEP 2020. The effort would also supplement the objectives of ‘National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship’ (NSDP), 2015.

Creation of sustainable skill Training Centres, phase-wise introduction of vocational courses in school curriculum in coordination with Ministry of Education through technical support, greater cross utilization of available infrastructure from Universities/ Colleges/ Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)/ Polytechnics/ Schools, and further strengthening of District Skill Committees (DSCs), State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs)/ State Directorate of Technical Education along with handholding, strategic and funding support under the Skill Hub Initiative (SHI).

Skill Hubs are nodal skill centres identified to provide skill development and vocational training opportunities to target population segments from class 6-8th (introduction to world-of-work through orientation, industry visits, bag-less days), Class 9th to 12th (aimed at exposing students to skill development avenues), school dropouts, and out-of-education (aimed for academic credit, mainstreaming back to education and or apprenticeship and employment linkages).

Skill Hubs will be co-opted from the vocational system and education system with participation from MSDE, MoE (Department of School Education & Literacy DoSEL and Department of Higher Education-DoHE), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) basis agreed selection criteria including but not limited to the following institutions:

• Schools (Government, Government-Aided and Private)
• Higher Education Institutions (Engineering, Technical and General Institutions including institutions offering Language courses)
• Polytechnics
• Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKKs)
• Private Training Providers (PMKVY centres, Fee based centres)
• Institutions under Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme
• Other Skilling Institutions like RSETI, NIELIT, etc.
• Skilling institutions under MSME
• Corporate Skill Institutions

In full roll-out of SHI, the scheme is aimed at the following:

• Provision of permanent vocational infrastructure and resources for skilling
• To ensure contiguous availability of skill centres for ease of candidates
• Introduce vocational learning at an early stage with multiple well-defined pathways for candidates to continue with their chosen vocations
• Provide vocational offerings for target segments including in-school, dropouts and out-of-education candidates
• Align the vocational offerings at all levels with overall economic and local economy needs

The pilot scheme is aimed at the following:

• Provision of permanent vocational infrastructure and resources for skilling
• Driving convergence and integrated skilling across the education and skill ecosystems
• Step towards re-positioning the vocational education ecosystem from supply driven to demand driven
• Provision of 6-7 Skill Hubs per district in the pilot phase through 5,000 Skill Hubs
• Rationalizing the cost of short-term vocational training with de-novo costing

The ‘Skill Hubs Pilot’ would be implemented under central component of PMKVY through National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) with the support of State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs), State Education Department/Agencies and District Skill Committees (DSCs). NSDC shall be responsible for operational aspects including registration on Skill India Portal, trainee life cycle mapping, portal-based IT support, Career Counselling solution, facilitate course material for training, advisory on the strengthening of Skill Hubs, Empanelment of Skill Hubs, Monitoring, etc.

Training under the Skill Hub Scheme shall be imparted through Schools, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKKs), Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), Engineering Colleges, General Education Colleges, Polytechnics, Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs), JSS centres, NIELIT centres and MSME Skilling Institutions and other Central/State institutions as the case may be.

The Skill Hubs being allocated targets in this initiative shall do the mobilization of candidates.

The Skill Hubs initiative in its final roll-out would offer NSQF aligned vocational courses for the following target segments of 15 to 45 age cohort:

• In-school students (Class 9-12th cohort);
• School Dropouts (Class 6th to 12th cohort); and
• Out-of-education candidates.

Skill Hubs will be required to follow the guidelines issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: Ministry of Home Affairs, and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship as updated from time to time and applicable central, state and local authorities, during the tenure of the Programme on preventive measures to contain spread of COVID-19 in TC.

As per PMKVY Guidelines, the ToT will be done by respective Sector Skill Council (SSCs). Trainer registration is mandatory but ToT is not mandatory but desirable especially when private/contractual trainers are engaged under the SHI pilot.

Assessment and certification process shall be as per guidelines and norms issued by MSDE/NCVET from time to time.

Institutions including Schools and HEIs which are already offering skilling-based courses through their respective School Education/Technical Boards would have the flexibility to undertake assessment and certification as per their existing norms if they offer NSQF aligned/approved courses.

In the pilot phase, Skill Hubs shall offer short term courses / job roles based on Samagra Shiksha vocational courses, which shall be upgraded to ‘universal’ trades and local economy relevant trades in the next phases. Course material to non-MSDE Skill Hubs may be facilitated through direct sharing of handbooks or flexibility to choose from list of publishers including the National Instructional Media Institute (NIMI).

You can find the list of job roles taught under skill hubs here Courses Directory

Candidate should be minimum 15 years of age as per scheme guidelines.

The duration of any course under Skill Hub depends on the Job role (ranging typically from 180 hrs to 540 hrs). Please refer to the courses section for specific details.

The funds shall be routed through NSDC directly to the Skill Hubs. Direct Payment shall be made to Schools/ITIs and institutes registered as TP on SIP. The tranches pay out under this Pilot will become due and payable upon achievement of the milestones, which are as under:

The direct monetary rewards to certified candidates shall be paid through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Candidate level assessments are the assessments that are conducted by trained, certified and third-party empaneled assessors (through training of assessors - ToA).

A candidate can contact their respective training Centre to seek NOS-wise detailed marks received. The assessment criteria applicable is defined below:

Any candidate who has successfully been trained by the training provider under the Skill Hub initiative is eligible to appear for assessments.

The Academic Institutions, Sector Skill Councils, Industry Bodies, Government ITIs or any other institution, independent bodies as identified and empanelled by National Council of Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) would conduct assessment.

The assessment fee will be paid directly by NSDC to the awarding bodies.

Any candidate who successfully passes the assessment is eligible for a Certificate and Marksheet.

The candidate can reach out to their respective Training Provider/ Skill Hub centre for receiving the physical copy of the certificate. For the soft copy of the certificate the candidate can access it via:

• Candidate login on SIP
• Requesting the Training Partner
• Accessing their DigiLocker account

The NCVET empaneled awarding body would be responsible for approving the results.

Yes, the candidate gets one time reward money post successful certification as per scheme norms.

Allowed batch size in trainings under Skill Hub will be between 15-40 students. Meaning, minimum 15 candidates need to be enrolled in a batch and maximum candidates 40 can be enrolled in a batch.

You may contact your nearest education department office/ITI/PMKK or designated skill hub in your area for enrolment in the program. You can locate centres via Find a Skill Hub Near You.

Training under the Skill Hub Initiative is completely free of cost for eligible candidates.

• A candidate needs an updated identification card to register/enrol in a skill hub
• Passport size photograph
• A bank account linked for direct transfers where applicable
• Details of last attained educational qualification

In Skill Hub initiative wage employment, self-employment, apprenticeships and mainstreaming to education (academic or vocational) shall be considered equivalent to placements.

AEBAS (Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System) or equivalent digital process is adopted in Skill Hub Initiatives to ensure transparent attendance tracking where applicable.