|
Skill Development: India has witnessed rapid economic growth in recent years, driven by the development of new-age industries. The rise in purchasing power has resulted in the demand for a new level of service quality. According to the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), skills can be classified into four levels based on the degree and duration of the training required.
Skill Gap Analysis According to the India Skills Report 2015, it was established that India lacks in the development of skills. Of all the students applying for roles in the labour market, a mere 1/3rd of the number had the appropriate skills to match the requirement of the employers. Though we have sufficient manpower but they are not skilled enough to get a job. A skill gap is a considerable gap between the skills required by the workforce and their current attributes and capabilities. In India, there exists an enormous skill gap between the demand from industries based on rapid economic growth and the kind of skill sets the young people acquire through various education and trainings. According to 12th Plan Document of the Planning Commission, 85 percent of the labour force in India have educational qualification up to secondary level within which 55 per cent have an educational qualification only up to the primary level and merely 2 per cent of the workforce has any vocational training.
This gap between the demand and supply not only affects economic growth, but it also prevents the inclusive growth of the economy as a whole. Hence, it becomes the responsibility of the government to be aware of such skill gaps and take newer initiatives for bridging those gaps in order to ensure inclusive growth. Fresh employment opportunities are getting created in the field of core engineering, retail, hospitality, e-commerce and banking but there is shortfall of trained people in the country to fill the positions. The Skills Gap as per the Figure 1 mentions the expected shortage of skilled manpower in various industries by 2022. Challenges India is facing a lot of challenges keeping in view the current infrastructure and the policy framework. The challenges faced in skill development have been discussed below:
Opportunities Job markets all across the world including India are undergoing a tectonic shift. The future of work in India: Inclusion, Growth and Transformation Report by the Observer Research Foundation and the World Economic Forum sheds light on the future of transformative technology and its impacts on work in India. Some key insights from this report are that companies expect technological change to lead to job creation, not job loss. They recognise the potential of new technologies in the coming years. The whole focus is expected to be on automation of repetitive tasks, time optimisation, maximising productivity, creation of digital platforms for online access to job opportunities and formalising informal operations. It is critical for people to keep picking up new tricks of their trade and keep themselves updated with new technological changes in their sphere of work. Conclusion Skill development is the most important aspect for the development of our country. India has a huge ‘demographic dividend’ which means that it has very high scope of providing skilled manpower to the labour market. This needs a coordinated effort from all stakeholders including:
References:
Ankita Rai
|
