A BRIEF HISTORY- DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA’S SKILLING ENVIRONMENT
India is on its way to becoming one of the skilling hubs in the world. And the development wasn’t seen in a day. India’s history of skill development is a long one.
After independence, formal education was accorded with tremendous value in India. As a result, a large amount of money was spent on establishing institutions of higher education, and the value of skill development in the coming years went unnoticed. However, as the issue came to light in due time, we realized India lacked the mechanisms and funding to implement the programs needed for the industry’s changing demands. This led to the inception of our efforts to establish formal centers for skill training.
The very first task was to focus on establishing a formal Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector which was committed to cater to the manufacturing and engineering sectors. Hence the first industrial training institute (ITI) was set up in 1869 by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. A year later the Central Staff Training and Research Institute was established in Kolkata.
While further efforts to formalize the TVET sector continued in the 1980s, issues like poor training quality, non- alignment to industry needs, and lack of standardized certification were still prominent. Most workers acquired skills through informal training systems and industry related certification courses offered by these systems remained unrecognized. By the 1990s the chasm in formal training programmes planned for the service sector was also significant. Shortfall in skilling for increased productivity in the agricultural, and construction sectors was prominent.
In 1987, the All India Council of Technical Education Act was formalized and became the regulator and funder for technical colleges across India. Similar efforts in 1993 lead to the National Institute of Educational Research and Training establishing the PANDIT Sunderlal Sharma Institute of Vocational Education, encouraging vocational education in the school’s sector.
With the opening up of the economy in 1990, new sectors, including an IT sector and a service sector, grew rapidly. While the IT industry remained stable with the support of entrants from higher-level technical institutions, the growing service sector indicated that employment in the traditional trades was no longer available for the skilled and semi-skilled.
This meant the youngest population in India, was not homogeneous in its need for skills. The target audience became wider in India than the traditional participants of TVET before. The importance of the English language as an employability skill was recognized and the language was made common in all public and private skilling initiatives in India.
Regardless of this progress, a large percentage of Indian youth remained unaware of these schemes, the consequences of which were reflected in the following- “the 11th Five-Year Plan document which mentioned that while 12.8 million people join the Indian workforce each year, the annual training capacity is less than half of that” (GOI 2007).
In March 2009, the Government announced a National Policy on Skill Development, laying down the framework for skills-related activities conducted in the country. This policy specified the need for skill training to become outcome-focused and directly linked to employability. This 2009 Skill Development Policy also clarified the role of different stakeholders like the government, industry, trade unions, and civil society in the creation of a wholesome skills ecosystem in India.
In the same year, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) was established and the first national skill development policy based upon a public-private partnership was seen. It aimed for the creation of a unified competency-based training system. Employers were formally engaged in the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and efforts were made to represent all the sectors of the economy in the skills system.
In the coming years, a number of different initiatives under different ministries began. For example, the State Skill Development Mission (SSDM), Skill Development Initiative (SDI), Modular Employment Skills (MES), the Aajeevika programme all supported by NSDC. These greatly assisted the training, assessment, and certification of school dropouts and the existing workforce which was previously uncertified.
One of the major feats for the development of the skilling environment in India was the establishment of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2014. The MSDE at the center was responsible for coordinating efforts towards skill development. Two prominent schemes by the central government were Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and Deen Dayal Upadhayaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojna (DDU- GKU) conceptualized under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. At the state level, the State Skill Ministry often works with the State Education Ministry. Its major responsibilities are the management of the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and the State Skill Development Mission. It focuses on integrating various skill training efforts within the state and providing opportunities for skill training to students.
The MSDE also implemented the National Skills Qualification Framework which organized qualifications of participants according to a series of levels of knowledge, skills, and aptitude. This was done in confidence with the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), an autonomous body which was established for the coordination of these activities in the country.
Having learnt from past experiences the Ministry focused on launching various certified skill training programmes for the youth. The MSDE made efforts to recognize and certify skills acquired through informal means through the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). It brought about a major shift from the unorganized sector to an organized economy. So far more than 10 lacs people have been formally certified under these programmes.
In 2015, the Skill India initiative was launched with the aim to train over 400 million people in different skills by 2022. Its aim was to strengthen the manufacturing sector and increase employment through Start-Up India. Initiatives under skill India include the National Skill Development Mission, The National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and The Skill Loan Scheme. The Skill India initiative offers courses across 40 sectors in the country which align with the standards recognized by the industry and the government, hence recognizing the unrecognized sector in India. It has actively engaged in creating opportunities in the international market. It is no longer limited to the domestic market. It promises the youth, the possibility of cross geographical exposure, and the ability to deal with global market demands.
More recently the union government announced graduates from Industrial Training Institutes will be considered to be on par with graduates of class 12th, bringing equivalence in the formal and vocational streams of education in the country.
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| SOURCE:- UNSPLASH BY -SCOTT GRAHAM |
EFFECTIVENESS OF SKILLING SCHEMES ON THE YOUTH
Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey said, “India is making all efforts necessary to utilize the potential of its unique demographic dividend.” “India is a young nation with a median age of 27.6 years. We will have the largest working population during 2022-2034. We have adapted global standards of skilling to strengthen the young workforce with competent skills,” he said. “We have undertaken several initiatives to provide opportunities for the workforce, including prominent international recruitments to enhance their skill level.”Although various schemes have been released, India’s overwhelmingly large demographic dividend can be difficult to manage. And when compared to the rest of the world, while 90% of the population in developed countries is vocationally qualified, in India the percentage is just 5-7%. Hence preparation for this daunting task is important.
Statistics say, by 2030 a third of the worlds working age population will come from India. 62% Of India’s population is in the working age group, and more than 54% of the total population will be below the age of 25 years. By 2020, it is estimated that the average age of the Indian population will be 29 against 40 in the US, 46 in Europe and 47 in Japan.
Hence, the question arises if India is actually creating enough jobs for its youth. For the 104.62 million new entrants in India’s labor market by 2022, the country needs to generate 8.1 million jobs annually. Failing to achieve this objective will negatively affect the country’s unemployment rate that reached 6.1% in 2017-18, despite technological advancements.
Out of this growing working-age population, most difficulties will be faced by graduates and the young working population. In 2020, 68million graduates in India will be unemployed. As most students will have non- technical degrees, employability in the industry will not be feasible. The lack of proficiency in English language skills and cognitive skills in 90% of the graduates will be another issue. Thus, it is important to engage employers with higher education students in college to prepare them before they enter the job market.
As India is an agricultural economy and rapidly undergoing transformation, efforts have been made to establish sector-specific higher education institutes- like agricultural universities. The government has also made available large-scale skilling programmes supported by the SSCs to students. This allows students to gain practical knowledge of the working of the sector prior to their entry in the very same.
This has pushed more than seventeen ministries of the Government of India, ranging from the Ministry of Labour and Employment to that of Human Resource Development and Food Processing Industries, to engage in undertaking different training initiatives with the target of skilling 350 million people by the year 2022.
A WINDOW FOR ADVANCEMENT
Unlike many developed countries, where skill development initiatives have been largely led by their government, the private sector in India has the opportunity to play a significant role in the country being able to produce job-ready and industry-ready professionals. Hence industry leaders cannot be allowed to play a passive role in the skill development process in India.
It should be understood that it is not the responsibility of a single body but multiple players including the government, industry, and academia. Everyone must come together under a common umbrella to prepare India's youth for future jobs. Their efforts would help in restructuring our traditional educational system and make it more demand-led, outcome-based and skill-based.
All such initiatives would largely help the Indian youth to learn, progress and develop new skills that will be essential for employment in the upcoming sectors. This will also depend upon how the country integrates technology in education to ensure creativity within the students, and make them job-ready. If implemented successfully, these collaborative efforts can help leverage the potential of India’s demographic dividend and achieve success in the long run. And, as we are one of the fastest-growing economies, we might just manage to become one of the largest skilling hubs in the world.
REFERENCES
https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/18.10.16_overview_of_skill_landscape.pdf
https://www.thehindu.com/education/careers/A-potted-history-of-skilling-in-India/article17287918.ece
https://www.msde.gov.in/background.html
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiO56SevcTqAhXTX30KHYajAMMQFjALegQIBhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldbank.org%2Fen%2Ftopic%2Fskillsdevelopment&usg=AOvVaw28KsE7zrd01AYY4J0l_
http://www.idfc.com/pdf/report/2012/Chapter_18.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337159309_Skill_Development_in_India_Achievements_Challenges
https://www.msde.gov.in/assets/images/latest%20news/PMKK%20Visit_June%2019.pdf
https://www.msde.gov.in/assets/images/latest%20news/Press%20release%20-Dr.%20Mahendra%20Nath%20Pandey%20makes%20a%20case%20for%20India%20as%20a%20skilling%20hub%20at%20Minister'%20Summit%20in%20Russia.pdf
https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/how-skill-development-is-transforming-the-employment-sector-in-india/story-QiIEXd1Is0JXM4tk03ZrpJ.html
WRITTEN BY AASHIKA PRABHAKAR
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