https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/how-skilled-are-we/article67224286.ece
Clipped from: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/how-skilled-are-we/article67224286.ece
Despite govt schemes, there’s still a long way to go
Given the shortage of skilled manpower in the country, the Prime Minister inaugurated the ‘Skill India Mission’ on July 15, 2015, on the occasion of the first World Youth Skills Day.
India has been working in the last few years to transform from a labour-based economy to a skill-based one.
To speed up this sector and bring it on the fast track, the Atal Innovation Mission and Incubation Centre was established along with the establishment of a separate Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Due to the Centre’s efforts in the last eight years, there has been a 24-per-cent increase in the Skill Industrial Training Centres (ITIs). From 11,847 ITIs in 2014, their number has increased to 14,747 in 2022.
Recently, the World Bank’s board of executive directors approved the $250 million Skill India Mission Operation (SIMO), which will improve the marketability of short-term skill development programs (3-12 months or up to 600 hours).
By 2025, an estimated 70 per cent of India’s population will be in the working age group. But whether they will get employment is a big question. Skill development of young generation is a national necessity, failing which this demographic advantage will become a challenge in itself.
The shortcommings
Skill India has not been able to achieve the expected success due to several reasons, mainly due to lack of training infrastructure and limited private sector participation.
Another issue is the lack of a body to monitor the functioning of these training institutes. Even today there is a huge mismatch between the number of candidates trained, certified and finally placed.
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), India may face a shortage of around 29 million skilled personnel by 2030.
An IDC report in 2021 found that nearly 74 per cent of enterprises still lack skills, which hinders overall innovation.
On one hand companies in India are facing acute shortage of skilled workforce and on the other hand, there are lakhs of educated unemployed in the country.
India is ranked 132 out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index of UNDP, which is a matter of concern. Unemployment has emerged as a major problem. This problem can be reduced to a great extent through skill development.
A skilled and educated labour force is vital for higher growth. Currently, only 45 per cent of the trained persons in India are employable and only 4.69 per cent of the workforce is available with vocational training, indicating that there is a huge skill gap in the country.
In the coming years, 25 per cent of the global working population will come from India. So if we do not skill, re-skill and up-skill our young demography, we will not be able to discharge our global responsibilities. It is crucial that young people receive training in courses based on coding, AI, robotics, IoT, 3D printing, and drones as the use of AI spreads across all industries today.
Global skill gap mapping needs to be done from time to time as well as shifting recruitment from “degree-based” to “skill-based”.
Currently, there are at least 20 different government bodies running skill development programmes, with little to no coordination and a lot of overlapping of work. The recommendations given by the Sharda Prasad Committee (2016) have to be implemented diligently.
Also, market and industry have to play a big role in determining the syllabus, curriculum and relevance.
Today, India needs a National Skills University (NSU) as proposed in the National Skills Universities Bill 2015.
The National Education Policy (2020) will have to make sincere efforts in this direction.
The writer is Associate Professor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship, JNU, New Delhi. Views expressed are personal
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