Around 40 per cent of the 73 lakh candidates trained under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana between 2016 and 2020 were women candidates while Jan Sikshan Sansthans have 90 per cent female trainees, Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said on Wednesday.

The minister said, "Through our programmes, aspiring female professionals have started to take their rightful place in the workforce while inspiring their peers from heterogeneous backgrounds to come forth and become a force to reckon with. It is heartening to see women breaking traditional barriers and training in less conventional skills to make a mark globally," the minister added.

Pandey was speaking at an event to mark the International Women's Week in the national capital on Wednesday.

He said the flagship Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana strives to promote increased participation of women in the workforce through appropriate skilling and gender mainstreaming of skills.

Close to 40 per cent of the candidates enrolled and trained under PMKVY (2016-20) are women out of the total 73 lakh candidates who have benefited from the scheme.

"Programmes under the Skill India Mission are designed to not only train women in relevant skills that are sought by the employers, but they are also sensitive to their needs by providing safe transport, flexible schedules and childcare support," Pandey added.

Focus on women enrolment has resulted in significant success. Through a wide network of 15,042 ITIs spanning across the country, the number of women getting admission has nearly doubled (97 per cent) to 173,105 women trainees in 2019 as compared to 87,799 women trainees in 2014, before the commencement of Skill India.

Pandey handed out certificates to the winners of several competitions held especially for women across multiple trades and various programmes initiated under the Skill India Mission. Best from waste, webpage designing, short video making and debate competition were some of the categories in which competitions were held.

The event was curated to raise awareness on various initiatives under the Skill India Mission, especially those focused on women.