Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a platform to assess and certify an individual, already skilled in a particular job role/trade. This skill may have been acquired by the individual via formal/informal or non-formal training and experience in the past. Individuals under RPL in PMKVY 2016-20 are certified with grade according to the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).

RPL is essentially about assessing the individual and then certifying as per NSQF. However, RPL program under PMKVY 2016-20 involves a mandatory orientation of 12 hours for all participating candidates. This includes 6 hours of orientation on domain specific skills, 2 hours of orientation on assessment and its providers and 4 hours of orientation on soft skills and entrepreneurship. Candidates are initially counselled and pre-screened after which they receive the mandatory orientation. Post which, candidates undergo an assessment test and receive their certification afterwards. Candidates may receive a training of maximum of 68 hours in case the project has been approved with a Bridge course. Apart from these, there is no specific training involved as RPL is concerned about assessment of the skills already possessed by an individual.

Bridge course in RPL program under PMKVY 2016-20 basically aims to cover the perceived gap in knowledge and understanding of the candidate regarding the core and non-core NOS (National Occupational Standard)s of a particular job role. However, in most cases, a bridge course is undertaken to enable up-skilling of candidates depending upon the demand and supply situation of the industry. A PIA (Project Implementing Agency) for RPL is required to propose and justify the need for Bridge course during project submission stage. The bridge course provision is over and above the mandatory 12 hours of orientation and can be for a maximum of 68 hours. Specific adjustments may however, be made in the modalities of provision of bridge course as per the approval Committee recommendations.

The RPL certification shall act as a legitimate proof of skills possessed by an individual. The RPL certificate issued under the Scheme has official logos of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Skill India and the concerned Sector Skill Council (SSC) and mentions the name of the job role along with the NSQF level. Successfully certified candidates under the Scheme are entitled to receive the following benefits

•  Every successfully certified candidate receives an amount of INR500
•  Candidate receive exposure to concepts of digital and financial literacy
•  Candidate receive an accidental insurance coverage for three years at free of cost (Kaushal Bima)
•  No fee is charged from a candidate for participating in the RPL program
•  RPL recognizes the value of learning acquired outside a formal setting and provides a government certificate for an individual’s skills

RPL under PMKVY can be implemented via five modes; viz. RPL at Camps, RPL at Employer's Premise, RPL at Centres, RPL with Best-in-Class Employers and RPL through Demand. Process of implementation largely remains the same in all five modes.

•  RPL at Camps: PIA targets a particular location where a certain group/ cluster of candidates with particular skill set are consolidated. These can be industrial or traditional clusters. Ceiling amount of pay-out to PIA is INR1700 per candidate.
•  RPL at Employer's Premise: RPL of already employed candidates is majorly conducted at the employer's premise in this mode. The PIA may partner with an employer wherein it may choose to mobilize already employed candidates (either on permanent or contractual terms of the employer) or engage potential job seekers in that industry. Ceiling amount of pay-out to PIA is INR1400 per candidate.
•  RPL at Centres: RPL is conducted at designated training centres. This delivery channel is more suitable for candidates who are desirous of participating under RPL during weekends. Ceiling amount of pay-out to PIA is INR1600 per candidate.
•  RPL with Best in Class Employers: This mode of RPL focuses on flexible and direct collaboration with top reputed employers in different sectors through Sector Skill Councils. Sector Skill Council functions as Project Implementing Agency in this mode. Pay-out to PIA in this mode is INR500/ 800, as per guidelines. No pay-out to employer is proposed.
•  RPL through Demand: This project type envisions to participate directly with the PMKK/PMKVY Centres. In order to understand and capture the existing demand for people willing to take up RPL certification, an online Demand Aggregation Portal (http://rpldap.pmkvyofficial.org/) has been created to mobilize candidates interested for RPL at Centres.

For project types, RPL at Camps, RPL at Employer’s Premise, RPL at Centres, RPL with Best-in-Class Employers, the proposing entities are required to submit project proposal in a designated format to the concerned Sector Skill Councils (SSCs). The eligibility criteria for participation in RPL as a PIA differs by the mode/ project type. The same can be found in detail in the Scheme guidelines at the following link :http://pmkvyofficial.org/App_Documents/News/Compendium-of-Guidelines-and-amendments-for-RPL.pdf. For project type, RPL through Demand, currently, the proposing entities are required to send in their entries to an expression of interest. Details and notification regarding this are regularly updated on the PMKVY official website :http://pmkvyofficial.org/Index.aspx .

No, the concerned SSCs are required to choose and register the Assessment Agency for conducting assessments for every project under RPL in the Scheme.

Yes, but subject to following conditions:

NSDC will provide the following:

•  Branding and promotion content developed for multi-media campaign including radio jingles, print and TV advertisements, flyers, brochures etc. Soft copies of poster templates and messaging to be used will be available on PMKVY Scheme website for usage by the PIAs. NSDC will run national level campaigns in radio, print and TV advertisements;
•  PIAs must ensure that the posters of the PMKVY Scheme are on display at all their training centres. The posters must be clearly displayed in the classrooms where trainings for the PMKVY Scheme are being conducted and the counselling rooms, if any;
•  Use of any other poster/flyer/text messages/e-mails or any document (electronic or physical) contradicting the message and outcomes of the PMKVY Scheme will be considered as a violation of the PMKVY Scheme process and appropriate action(s) shall be taken against the defaulter, including de-affiliation from participating in PMKVY Scheme in future as per the applicable Consequence Management Guidelines.

RPL is applicable to any candidate of Indian nationality who:

•  On the date of enrolment, fits the minimum age criteria as per the Qualification Pack (QP) requirement.
•  Possesses an Aadhaar Card [verifiable alternate ID’s, such as PAN or Voter ID may be applicable for Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and certain States in the North - East region] and a bank account.
•  Fits the Pre- Screening criteria defined by SSC for the respective Job role.

There are three ways in which you can become a part of the scheme:

•  Click on the following link to find out the RPL batches scheduled to be conducted during a particular week across the country and connect with the concerned PIA SPOC for possible registration http://pmkvyofficial.org/rpl_schedule_for_the_week.aspx
•  Visit the Demand Aggregation Portal for RPL at the following link. The interested candidates can leave their interest on this portal for a particular centre and job role which is of interest to them. This shall lead to creation of specific batches at that particular centre in the near future http://pmkvyofficial.org/RPLDAP/
•  Give a missed call to 088000-55555 to know more.

For more information, please visit: http://pmkvyofficial.org/Index.aspx

An employer can participate in the RPL program via two ways. Firstly, an employer may collaborate with individual training providers, implementing agencies in the skill development and education domain under RPL project type 2 i.e. RPL at Employer’s Premise. The employer shall aim to get its employees RPL certified at its own premises and may opt for providing a Bridge course of a maximum of 68 hours, over and above the 12 hours of orientation. Secondly, an employer may collaborate with the concerned Sector Skill Council under RPL project type 4 i.e. RPL with Best-in-Class Employers. SSCs function as PIA in this project type. Refer question 5 for more details. Proposing entities are required to connect the concerned SSCs directly in this regards.