The National Cooperative Policy places strong emphasis on nurturing the younger generation for sustained growth in the sector. The policy outlines a comprehensive strategy to attract, train, and engage youth, particularly from rural and semi-urban areas, in long-term cooperative careers.
Key measures include motivating young individuals to explore opportunities in cooperative enterprises and promoting the creation of standardized, high-quality, cooperative-focused courses. The policy also aims to produce authoritative content and educational material to build awareness and skills among youth and women.
To address the demand for skilled manpower, the policy proposes building an ecosystem that facilitates skilling and upskilling, ensuring employment opportunities in cooperatives. Importantly, it encourages the inclusion of experienced cooperative practitioners as part-time resource persons, trainers, and visiting faculty to bolster knowledge transfer.
Another forward-looking provision in the policy is the development of an efficient hiring ecosystem that makes it easier for cooperatives to recruit and for candidates to find jobs, thus addressing the skill-job mismatch in the sector.
By focusing on education, employment, and ease of access, the new policy aims to make cooperatives a viable and attractive career option for India’s next generation.
