Enhancing Skills to Boost Entrepreneurship and Employment in the Tourism Sector: An EDII-TCGL

Abstract

Unemployment in India remains a subject of concern since independence. Various strategies and proposals have been implemented to generate employment. However unemployment rate in India is increased to 6.10 percent in 2018 from 3.52 percent in 2017. It is believed that India’s economic growth can be accelerated by introducing the notion of self-employment. Tourism is one of the rapidly growing sectors in Gujarat and it has scope for viable entrepreneurial ventures. Aiming to provide an intense training on how to take up entrepreneurship as a career choice in the Tourism industry and inculcating spirit of entrepreneurship amongst youth, EDII with the support of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL), Gandhinagar, conducted Skill and Entrepreneurship Development Training programmes for 2100 trainees (February 2015 to March 2018) with a combination of classroom teaching/training, simulation exercises, assignments, mentoring and counselling by experts to formulate business plans, field visits to relevant industries etc. A survey was conducted from the 1100 beneficiaries of the programme from the previous years: 2015-16 and 2016-17, through a detailed questionnaire. A total of 2100 people benefitted from the programmes. The impact of training programmes is seen as a direct consequence on the employment status of various trainees. The success rate in terms of number of micro units being initiated is 31 per cent. The programmes thus helped boost entrepreneurship and employment through skill development in allied fields of tourism and hospitality sector. More of such programmes must be organised in various other sectors also in order to give impetus to employability in those sectors.