Government approves financial assistance to pharma MSMEs to get workforce trained on GMP under SANKALP project

The Union ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship has approved the financial assistance for MSME pharma units to get their manufacturing workforce trained on good manufacturing practice (GMP) under Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) project.

SANKALP, a programme of the ministry of skill development with loan assistance from the World Bank, aims to improve short term skill training qualitatively and quantitatively through strengthening institutions, bringing in better market connectivity and inclusion of marginalised sections of the society. SANKALP was launched on January 19, 2018 and has a tenure till March 2023.

The ministry has approved the financial assistance for 7500 employees and workmen employed with MSME companies in pharma clusters pan India to re-skill/ upskill on 360 Degree aspects of GMP. Nominated employees can therefore avail of these online upskilling modules, fully funded by the government, said Ranjit Madan, chief executive officer (and Joint Apprenticeship Advisor, Life Sciences Sector), Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council (LSSSDC).

Earlier LSSSDC, an industry led, national level vocational education awarding body, working relentlessly for bridging the skill gap in life sciences sector (pharma, biotechnology & contract research) had submitted a representation to the ministry seeking financial assistance for MSME to get their manufacturing workforce trained on GMP following feedback from industry associations like BDMA, FOPE and IDMA about the financial inability of MSME companies to use 360 Degree GMP programmes in paid model.

In 2020, LSSSDC in consultation with industry leaders and experts, have developed and launched Good Manufacturing Practice Training Programmes covering 360 Degree aspects of GMP requirements for employees and workmen working in key job roles in a manufacturing unit. These programs were based on the skill gap trends identified in various regulatory audits like US FDA, UK MHRA, WHO and State FDAs over the last three years.

During the pandemic of Covid-19, realizing the advantage of technology intervention, these programs were developed as online modules which provided the flexibility of implementation keeping the quality and standardization of programs intact. LSSSDC had partnered with nominated Indian industry experts and a German Federal Agency, GIZ, for development of these programs, said Madan.

Since December 2020, these “360 Degree GMP programmes” have been utilized by large industry players like Cadila Healthcare (Zydus), Cipla, DRL, Emcure, Lupin, Sun Pharma and many others as industry paid programs resulting in nearly 3000 user licenses sold till date. A series of positive feedbacks were received from industry leaders where the workforce have used these programs, he stated.

“We cited medium and small size employers are not able to meet the rigorous reskilling and up-skilling demand for its operator and assistants level workforce due to a financially stressed economy. Also, under Atmanirbhar Bharat, where to tackle imports from China, the government of India is promoting domestic manufacturers to boost the production at par to global quality, the up-skilling of workforce in MSMEs, shall catalyze the effort of industry and government of India,” he added.

We are glad that on the basis of representation of LSSSDC, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship under its initiative “SANKALP” have approved the financial assistance for pharma MSMEs helping them get their employees trained on GMP, he opined.

To participate in the SANKALP Project for “Re-skilling/ Upskilling of MSME workforce in Life Sciences Sector”, interested companies need to fulfil following: Provide valid Udyam Certificate to LSSSDC, Ensure access to LSSSDC team for basic employee data required for enrollment and allow LSSSDC to take Aadhaar based attendance during the training Programme, Ensure no salary deduction for employee/worker during the upskilling programme duration, Wherever possible provide computers for delivery of upskilling program to its employees/workers, he said.

There are three programmes offered under the SANKALP Project for “Re-skilling/ Upskilling of MSME workforce in the Life Sciences Sector”. These include 360 Degree GMP for production machine operators, 360 Degree GMP for manufacturing assistants, 360 Degree GMP for packaging assistants.