India needs about 50 crore of cumulative skilled manpower by 2022, of which Maharashtra

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alone needs five crore, an official said.

"The country needs about 50 crore of skilled manpower but there is a huge gap today. At present, India has a training capacity of only 30 lakh people and the need of the hour is aggressive vocational training," Department of Higher and Technical Education Principal Secretary J S Saharia told PTI on the sidelines of a CII event here.

The Department has already presented a road-map to the Chief Minister and the Governor highlighting the measures needed to improve the quality of vocational education that would be system-relevant and employable, Saharia said.

Industry players should join hands with Government bodies in this regard, he said.

The Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGE&T), Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) and Government of India recently launched the Modular Employable Skills (MES) scheme to provide more employment.

The scheme provides vocational training to all above 14 years of age in more than 976 trades over 43 demand-driven sectors with duration ranging from 60 hours to 720 hours and flexible training delivery mode.

"Unlike other programmes, the MES requires true commitment and dedication over a long span of time, almost a generation. The scheme holds a tremendous potential for the unorganised sector also," said CII Chairman (Sub Committee on Skill Development), Pradeep Bhargava.