Occupational Aspirations of the Participants of Agricultural Skill Training in Kerala

Abstract

� Skilled India � is the ambitious mission of Government of India. Krishi Vigyan Kendras, with the support of qualification packs and model curriculum developed by Agricultural Skill Council of India, are organizing skill trainings besides providing the post-training technical handholding. Training, similar to formal education, mould the aspirations of trainees to pursue occupational choices. The paper presents the occupational aspirations of 277 participants of 16 training programmes on 11 job roles related to agriculture in nine districts of Kerala. Most prominent aspiration was to ‘start a new enterprise’, which is in line with the objective of creating entrepreneurs in rural areas. Post-training aspirations indicated enhanced aspiration to get a job in government/recognized institutions, an indicator of increased self-confidence and employability of trained manpower. Occupational aspirations varied with job roles and thus provide crucial feedback to policy makers and development agencies for working on future road-map.