Centre to launch 10 short-term certification courses in healthcare sector

NEW DELHI, JUNE 26: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare along with two other ministries - Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship will offer multiple short-term certification programmes in healthcare sector. According to the ministries involved, a total of 10 certification courses of six months duration each will be introduced under an agreement to train 1.4 million students in the healthcare sector by 2022. The certificates will be awarded by IGNOU.

An MoU was signed to this effect by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda, Union Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar and Union Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on June 25. 

As per the MoU, the certification courses will be launched in two phases. Initially, a total of four courses - Home Health Aide, Geriatric Care Assistant, Phlebotomist and General Duty Assistant, will be launched countrywide. This will be followed by launch of remaining six skill-based certifications which include Diabetes Educator, Dietetic Aide, EMT-Basic, Dispensing Optician/VT and Medical Equipment Technology Assistant. The curriculum of all these courses will be designed as per standardization done by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

These courses will be aligned to 'National Skill Qualification Framework' and under these courses, IGNOU is expected to train around 9000 people by the end of this year. The Ministry of Health will spend about INR 1.5 crore per course for the next four years.

On the occasion, Health Minister said that, with the coming up of 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres by 2022, there will be an urgent need for such healthcare providers. “The potential for skilled healthcare workers and professionals will increase immensely in the healthcare sector. Such courses will ensure that the health sector gets adequate skilled health workers”. We must also ensure that quality is not compromised and there has to be a regular review to add new courses, he added.

Speaking to Careers360 on the occasion, IGNOU Vice Chancellor Prof S B Arora said that the certification courses are aimed at bringing employment opportunities to the youth as soon as they pass their higher secondary examinations. “This skill development initiative is aimed at catching 10+2 students and developing their skills in healthcare sector.  We have identified ten areas in which the students will be trained through both theory and practical classes. The learning medium for the certification courses will be both in audio and video format,” he said, adding, the tie-up along with ministry is to facilitate learning and training processes of participants.

Commenting on the partnership, Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Skill development in India is moving with great speed and scale and this has only been possible with the support of our partner ministries. This is yet another milestone collaboration that we are witnessing today. It is a matter of great pride for us to enable this level of convergence and coordination with which will be able to translate partnerships into meaningful public good and opportunities for all.” Our courses under Skill India will ensure that our programs have a defined curriculum which will yield maximum benefit to candidates, he further added.

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said that this is a historic moment as the three ministries of health, education and skills are coming together to meet the large manpower requirements in the burgeoning healthcare sector. These courses are designed keeping in mind the emerging need required for the healthcare skills. This will also help participants find job opportunities available in the sector.