Sree Narayana Guru Open University (SNGOU) has given shape to a novel course aimed at imparting vocational training to unemployed people so as to help them float nano enterprises.
While the district panchayats will identify potential learners for the proposed Bachelor of Arts programme in Nano Entrepreneurship, the Industries department, the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) and agencies, including ASAP Kerala and Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC), will be roped in to train them and nurture their budding enterprises.
SNGOU Vice Chancellor P.M. Mubarak Pasha hoped the course would be a game-changer and bring a large number of unemployed people into the production sector. “Several dropouts, including home makers, constitute a dormant human resource. Their involvement in productive sectors is key to economic growth,” he said.
He said that nano-businesses held immense potential in the State considering its sizable section of unemployed people. The entrepreneurship model had been a vital cog of the economy in China by providing employment to large sections, Dr. Pasha said.
Priority to women
The programme will give priority to women applicants. College dropouts or those who have cleared Plus Two can enrol for the course. The learner will choose his/her vocation in the first year of the distance mode course.
The subsequent periods of the three-year programme will focus on providing practical exposure and hands-on training. Training will be provided on Saturdays and Sundays at centres run by KILA and ASAP Kerala. Management experts will be engaged to mould the budding entrepreneurs and help them float start-ups.
The district panchayats will identify potential areas and suggest vocational courses such as garment production, soap making and manufacturing value-added food products after undertaking a statistical analysis.
The Kasaragod district panchayat, which has been chosen for piloting the course, has already identified 500-odd prospective learners, mostly women, in the 35-55 age group. None of them are currently employed or have any source of livelihood.
The university will seek University Grants Commission (UGC)’s recognition for the course when the Distance Education Bureau portal opens in November.
