Agriculture Skill Council of India (ASCI)

The Agriculture Skill Council of India (ASCI) is a Section 8 Not for profit concern working under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). ASCI works towards capacity building by bridging gaps and upgrading skills of farmers, wage workers, self-employed & extension workers engaged in organized/unorganized segments of Agriculture & Allied Sectors.

About ASCI

The Agriculture Skill Council of India (ASCI) is contributing to nation-building through Skill Development in Agriculture especially at the times when country's agriculture is experiencing stagnant growth, the exodus of quality manpower to other sectors, changing climate with increased variability in production parameters and transformations in international agriculture markets that are especially too much subsidized challenging the competitiveness of Indian Agriculture.

ASCI has taken upon itself the responsibility of transforming Indian Agriculture through developing the skills of the country's manpower in emerging areas of agriculture. With the development of 182 Qualification Packs, ASCI has covered segments:

• Farm Mechanization and Precision Farming
• Agri-Information Management
• Dairy Farm Management
• Poultry Farm Management
• Fisheries
• Animal Husbandry
• Post-Harvest Supply Chain Management
• Forestry and Agro Forestry
• Watershed Management
• Amenity Horticulture and Landscaping
• Production Horticulture
• Seeds Industry
• Soil Health Management
• Commodity Management
• Agri Entrepreneurship & Rural Enterprises
• Other Allied

Vision and Mission

Vision

Creating a sustainable industry-aligned ecosystem for robust skill & entrepreneurship development in Agriculture & Allied sector

Mission

• End to end approach on skilling and linking all the stakeholders of Agriculture Value Chain
• Creating more non-agricultural jobs (Agriculture Allied Activities)
• Achieving rapid growth in the Agriculture sector through intensive skill development
• Linking and generating maximum number of entry-level jobs
• Enhancing the economic value of time and labour of landless workforce
• Making farmers of the country Agriculture entrepreneurs through Market Information
• Linking the farm labour with wage-related employment in Agriculture sector, during non-farming months

Objectives

• Determining skills/competency standards and qualifications and development of National Occupational Standards (NOS)
• Preparation and maintenance of skill inventory to facilitate individual choices
• Development of sector-specific skill development plans
• Standardisation of affiliation and accreditation process
• Affiliation, accreditation, assessment and certification of Vocational Institutes/Programmes
• Plan and execute Training of Trainers (ToT)
• Promotion of academics of excellence
• Establishment of a well-structured, sector-specific, Labour Market Information System (LMIS) to assist planning and delivery of training
• Adoption of global best practices

Services

Labour Market Information System (LMIS)

• Assessment of sector-specific needs and demands by identifying the skill gaps
• Aggregate supply and demand for training as per the requirements of the labour market
• Analyse and share information for the benefit of all stakeholders in the ecosystem

Qualification Pack - National Occupational Standards (QP-NOS)

• Detailed specification of desired performance in a job role by describing the knowledge and skills in the form of QPs and NOS
• Training curriculum, content development and assessments as per QP-NOS, in compliance with NSQF

Affiliation and Accreditation

• Evaluation of training partner’s proposal and award affiliation
• Develop training curriculum based on specific NOS
• Assist training partners to deliver quality training

Assessment and Certification

• Develop Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for conducting assessment
• Develop assessment criteria and question banks
• Certification of candidates after successful completion of training

Beneficiaries

Industry

• Industry ready workforce trained as per job roles
• Option to engage youth as apprentices
• Recognition of prior informal learning (RPL)
• Enhanced productivity and quality output
• Application of the latest research findings and technology
• Attract and retain the workforce through career paths

Employees

• Improved employability through right qualifications
• Recognition of skills and competencies through RPL
• Improved career progression
• Retooling of competencies and transferability of skills
• Multi-skills development, leading to increased job security

Farmers

• Improved income and greater productivity
• Access to the latest technologies for efficiency and quality
• Reduced risk of natural calamities
• Development of entrepreneurial abilities
• Access to information, credit and market linkages
• Continuous learning through digital devices

Academia

• Awareness about vocational options from school level
• Institution-industry collaboration opportunities
• Industry-driven research and application of findings
• Enhanced employability options for students
• Earn-while-you-learn and apprenticeships

Students/Unemployed Youth

• Opportunity to acquire skills that get them jobs
• Motivate and mobilize dropouts for training and placement
• Create interest in agriculture and allied sectors as career destinations
• Encourage self-employment and development of entrepreneurial skills
• Provide long-term career opportunities through upskilling and reskilling

Source: ASCI Portal