Internship scheme aims to bridge skill gap among youth: Nirmala Sitharaman

Synopsis

The PM Internship Scheme is designed to bridge the gap between industry requirements and the skill sets of job seekers. Recognizing a significant shortfall in skilled labor nationwide, senior industry leaders emphasized the need for enhanced workforce readiness. Thus, the government upgraded the scheme, raising stipends to ₹9,000 and lowering the eligibility age to eighteen. Now, final-year undergraduates can participate in this initiative from the corporate affairs ministry.

Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: Finance and corporate affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the PM Internship Scheme has been designed to narrow the gap between the skill sets that industry wants and what eligible job seekers offer.

During consultations for the scheme, senior industry representatives had flagged that they were not getting adequate skilled workers despite hiring requirements across sectors, the minister said, addressing some of the scheme's beneficiaries at an event in the national capital.

At the same time, many young people were seeking jobs, but they didn't have the skill sets that industry wanted, Sitharaman noted.

So, the government introduced the scheme, she said, to enable young people to acquire skills through internships at top companies, and make them job-ready.

It will enable youth to move beyond classroom training and have direct exposure to the workings of companies through internships for a fixed period.

To make the internship scheme more attractive for candidates, the government has increased the monthly stipend to ₹9,000 from Rs 5,000 for the ongoing third phase of its pilot project, which started in March. The minimum eligible age has been reduced to 18 years from 21, while the upper age limit remains unchanged at 24.

The internship duration has been revised to six or nine months from one year, in line with requests from services companies. Final-year undergraduate students are also now eligible to apply. The corporate affairs ministry is implementing the scheme.

The move follows a muted response in the first two phases of the scheme's pilot project, prompting the ministry to consider fresh measures to improve participation in the third phase. The first phase was rolled out in late 2024.

ET had earlier reported that the corporate affairs ministry was also considering a raft of measures, including pilot projects involving entities in special economic zones, global capability centres and select small and medium enterprises, to improve participation in the scheme.