Skill development in India

WHAT IS SKILL DEVELOPMENT?

SKILL DEVELOPMENT IS THE PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING SKILL GAPS AND IMPROVING THEM.Skill development can be increased only by continuous training.

As per Labour Bureau Report, 2014, the current size of India’s formally skilled workforce is only 2 percent. This apart, there is also the challenge of employability of large sections of conventionally educated youth.

The available NSSO data shows that 15–24-year-old cohorts face higher risk of working poverty as they enter the labour market opting for low paid jobs and withdraw from the market when they fail to get suitable employment. This high level of unemployment can be due to failure to find a job or lack of competency or training opportunity or low demands for skill acquired leading to skill mismatch.

The focus in India has always been on education but unfortunately not on overall skill development.Sheer magnitude of the people who needs to be skilled. The study by national Skill Development Council (NSDC) indicates that a net requirement of about 12 crore skilled manpower would be required in 24 key sectors by 2022. The diverse nature of skill sets required varies across the geography of country depending on industrial demand in cluster which further makes need to have location specific strategies .The target demography for the skilling initiative is also diverse with people from various education backgrounds who aspire to be skilled. Perception about vocational skilling vis-à-vis higher education needs to be changed.

Social Acceptability: Vocational courses and skill development courses are looked down upon and such students do not have acceptability in the society as compared to other courses.

Pending Labour reforms: The multiplicity and complexity of labour laws is an inhibiting factor. The employers generally prefer automation and contract labour over permanent to save themselves from labour laws. This growing practice impedes skill development in India.

Rapidly changing technology: In the era of rapidly changing technology, it is difficult to estimate the quantity and areas in which skilled workforce is required. It also raises requirement of higher order skill sets. The vocational courses are terminal in nature — there is lack of vertical mobility from certificate to diploma to degree courses in vocational education. As a result parents who feel that their child has an inherent skill do not influence him/her to take up a vocational career.

Lack of infrastructure and poor quality of courses: The infrastructure in most skill training centres is of poor quality and not upgraded. Hence the gap between what the industry desires and the machinery being used for training is wide.

Poor quality of trainers: The trainers who impart the skill training are not up-to-date with the skills required by the industry and hence the outcome of training is not as per desired quality. As such, students who complete these courses also do not find ready employment in the Industry.

Lack of standardization: Several ministries offer skill courses increasing the confusion amongst students also resulting in lack of standardization. Furthermore, there is no single comprehensive model addressing all the concerns of this sector .

Gender disparities: The skill programmes are biased towards trades which are more favourable to men reinforcing the exclusion of girls. There is the challenge of providing facilities like female teachers, hostels and transport along with introducing flexible courses in terms of time for their better participation.

Recognition of Prior Learning: Although the workers like Diamond cutters in Pune may have requisite skills passed on from generations, but in absence of any certificate they are not able to take a decent job or start a venture.

Ministry of Skill Development

The Ministry aims to Skill on a large Scale with Speed and high Standards in order to achieve its vision of a ‘Skilled India’. It is aided by its functional arms National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) and 33 Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) as well as 187 training partners registered with NSDC. National Skill Development Corporation The National Skill Development Corporation, (NSDC) is a Public Private Partnership in India, under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. The overall objective of NSDC is to create training capacity in the country; fund vocational training initiatives and create a market ecosystem for skill development. The mandate of NSDC was to train 150 million people by 2022

Skill India Skill India is an initiative of the Government of India. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 July 2015 with an aim to train over 40 crore people in India in different skills by 2022. The initiatives include National Skill Development Mission, National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) scheme and the Skill Loan scheme.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana It is a flagship scheme for imparting skill training to youth, focusing on improved curricula, better pedagogy and trained instructors. The training includes soft skills, personal grooming, behavioral change et al. The scheme is being implemented by the newly created Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). It will cover 24 lakh youths. The Skill training would be based on the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and industry led standards.

Apprenticeship Protsahan Yojana It is a major initiative to revamp the Apprenticeship Scheme in India. The major components of this initiative are: Amendment to the Apprentices Act, 1961 to making the legal framework friendly to both, industry and youth Enhancing the rate of stipend and indexing it to minimum wages of semi-skilled workers Government of India shares fifty percent of stipend for the first two years of training engaged by eligible establishments particularly in manufacturing Basic training curricula being restructured on scientific principles to make it more effective The Apprentice Protsahan Yojana will support one lakh apprentices during the period up to March 2017 .Creation of Union Ministry The government notified the creation of the first dedicated Department of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2014, which later became a full-fledged Ministry with NSDA, NSDC and NSDF under its purview.

Education opens the door to lead a life of liberty but skills make that liberty meaningful by allowing one to achieve prosperity. In the case of India, the country’s population pyramid is expected to bulge across the 15–59 age groups over the next decade. This demographic advantage is predicted to last only until 2040. India therefore has a very narrow time frame to harness its demographic dividend and to overcome its skill shortages. So, it is imperative to take coordinated efforts to skill its population and make India the Skill Capital of the World.