MSME Skill Training and Employment Scheme (Tamil Nadu)

What is the MSME Skill Training and Employment Scheme?

The MSME Skill Training and Employment Scheme is a training and employment programme of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, launched during 2021-22 and delivered through the District Industries Centres with certification by the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC).

The scheme's stated objective is to meet the skilled manpower requirement of MSMEs by having the MSMEs themselves impart the necessary on-the-job training, and thereby create employment. That sentence contains the whole design. There is no separate training institute, no external curriculum and no classroom course. A small or medium enterprise takes freshers onto its own shop floor, trains them on its own machines and processes for up to six months, and pays them while doing it.

The money. MSME units providing the training pay a stipend of Rs 5,000 per month per candidate for up to six months. Of that, Rs 2,000 per month is reimbursed by the Government of Tamil Nadu to the MSME after the training programme is completed. The unit's net cost is therefore Rs 3,000 a month per trainee, and the trainee receives the full Rs 5,000.

The certificate. Trained candidates are issued a certificate by the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation. This is what turns six months in one factory into a credential that travels. A TNSDC certificate is recognised by other employers and by skilling and placement programmes across the state.

Why the design makes sense. Tamil Nadu has one of India's densest concentrations of small manufacturing, in Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Hosur, Ranipet, Sivakasi, Chennai's industrial belt and dozens of smaller clusters. The gap that keeps those units short-staffed is not a shortage of diploma and ITI holders. It is that a fresher out of a polytechnic cannot run a specific machine on a specific line without months of supervised work. Paying the enterprise to do that training, rather than building a parallel training system, closes the gap where it actually exists.

Who is eligible, and who is not eligible?

Candidates can join if:

• They are freshers who have obtained an engineering degree, a polytechnic diploma or an ITI certificate.
• They are in the age group of 18 to 25.
• They are willing to undergo on-the-job training in an MSME unit for up to six months.

MSME units can participate if:

• They are a registered micro, small or medium enterprise, with Udyam Registration.
• They have a genuine manpower requirement and the capacity to train on the job.
• They are willing to pay the Rs 5,000 monthly stipend up front and claim the Rs 2,000 reimbursement after the programme is completed.
• They register with the District Industries Centre for their district.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not a fresher. The scheme is for candidates entering the workforce, not for experienced hands seeking a subsidised wage.
• You are outside the 18 to 25 age band described for the scheme.
• You hold no engineering degree, polytechnic diploma or ITI certificate. General degree holders are not covered by this particular scheme; other TNSDC programmes serve them.
• You are seeking a cash grant without training. The stipend is paid for attending and working, and stops when the training does.
• Your enterprise is not Udyam-registered, or is not an MSME, in which case the reimbursement cannot be claimed.

How to apply for the MSME Skill Training and Employment Scheme

If you are a candidate:

1. Complete your qualification: engineering degree, polytechnic diploma or ITI certificate, and keep the original certificate and marksheets ready.
2. Go to the District Industries Centre in your district and ask for the MSME Skill Training and Employment Scheme desk. The DIC is the office that links candidates with participating units; for example, the Ariyalur DIC can be reached on 04329-228555.
3. Register your details: qualification, trade or branch, and the areas you can travel to for work — with your degree or diploma certificate, age proof, Aadhaar and bank passbook copy.
4. Attend the unit's selection. Participating MSMEs pick trainees for the specific skills they need, so expect an interview or a shop-floor assessment.
5. Join the training on the agreed date, and confirm in writing the stipend, the duration and the working hours before you start.
6. Complete the full programme, the reimbursement to the unit is payable only after the training programme is completed, so a mid-way exit affects both sides.
7. Collect your TNSDC certificate at the end, and keep it safely. It is the asset you carry away.

If you are an MSME unit:

1. Approach the General Manager of your District Industries Centre with your Udyam Registration and your manpower requirement.
2. Register under the scheme and state the number of trainees, the trades and the training period.
3. Take on the trainees and pay the Rs 5,000 monthly stipend to each.
4. Maintain the training records; attendance, the skills imparted and the duration.
5. Claim the Rs 2,000 per month per candidate reimbursement from the department through the DIC after the training programme is completed.

What documents are required?

How to check the status of your enrolment or claim

There is no separate public tracker for this scheme, and the District Industries Centre is the single point of contact for both sides:

1. Candidates should ask the DIC whether their registration has been shared with participating units, and which units in the district are currently taking trainees.
2. Units should ask the DIC for the status of the reimbursement claim and whether the training completion record has been accepted.
3. Where the DIC does not respond, escalate to the Commissioner of Industries and Commerce and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.

Why enrolments and claims fail

• Candidate not a fresher, or outside the 18 to 25 age band.
• Qualification outside the listed set, the scheme names an engineering degree, polytechnic diploma or ITI certificate.
• Training abandoned midway, which affects the unit's reimbursement claim as well as the candidate's certificate.
• Unit not Udyam-registered, so the reimbursement cannot be processed.
• Stipend not actually paid by the unit. The Rs 2,000 is a reimbursement of money already spent, so a claim without proof of payment fails.
• Training records incomplete, with attendance or duration not documented.

What a trainee should ask before joining

Six months is a real commitment, and a candidate has every right to ask:

• Which trade or machine will I be trained on, and who supervises the training?
• Will the stipend be Rs 5,000 a month, paid to my own bank account, and on what date each month?
• Are the working hours and safety arrangements the same as for regular employees?
• Does the unit intend to employ trainees at the end of the programme, and on what terms?
• Will the TNSDC certificate be applied for, and by whom?

Where to raise a grievance

• General Manager, District Industries Centre for your district, first. The DIC administers the scheme on the ground.
• District Collector, where the DIC does not act.
• Commissioner of Industries and Commerce and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.
• Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation, tnskill.tn.gov.in, for anything concerning the training certificate.

Enrolment is free for the candidate. No fee, deposit or "placement charge" is payable to any unit, agent or intermediary to be taken on as a trainee under this scheme.