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Skill Development for New
Age Empowerment
Give a
man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed
him for a lifetime.
– Chinese proverb
Skills
and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social
development of any country. Today, the youth is in search of a bright
future and seeks to build a new India. It is, therefore, incumbent upon
us to provide them the necessary opportunities and facilities to prepare
themselves for the responsibilities that lie ahead as also to look at
the challenges in their future.
With 70% of our population residing in rural India, when we talk of
inclusive growth we should have rural development on top priority. At
the outset, it is important to increase the growth rate in the
agricultural sector both for the overall development of the country and
also for creating employment opportunities for the youth. Today,
employment opportunities are aplenty for the skilled. It is said that
economy becomes more productive, innovative and competitive through the
existence of more skilled human potential. The critical indicators of
the process of development in any economy are the level of employment,
its composition and the growth in employment opportunities.
The increasing pace of globalisation and technological changes provide
both challenges and growing opportunities for economic expansion and job
creation. In taking advantage of these opportunities as well as in
minimising the social costs and dislocation, the critical factors here
are the level and quality of skills that a nation possesses.
It is very important to note that countries with higher and better
levels of skills adjust more effectively to the risks and opportunities
of globalisation. The supply of unskilled labour in India is very high,
and on account of being unskilled, the wages they are able to demand are
very low. On the other hand, the World Bank ‘Doing Business’ survey
shows that the demand in India for specific skills is very high, and
often unmet. For instance, in spite of the boom in the construction
sector, simple skills like waterproofing, fencing or scaffolding are in
short supply, highlighting the gap between demand and supply.
There problems need to be addressed on a priority basis as the skill
level and educational attainment of the work force determines the
productivity as well as the adaptability of the working class in this
changing environment. Majority of the workforce, both present and
potential, does not possess the requisite skills and needs to undergo
training. Only 5% of the Indian labour force in the age group of 20-24
has received vocational training, whereas the percentage in
industrialised countries is much higher, varying between 60% and 80%
(Courtesy: The World Bank survey).
The largest share of new jobs in India is supposed to come from the
unorganised sector that employs up to 93% of the national workforce and
produces 60% of GDP. Since small and micro enterprises are supposed to
play a central role in the national employment creation strategy, they
should be assisted in skill development. This is a major area where
India needs to focus and create income-generating projects. The formal
skill training system - because of its educational entry requirements
and long duration of courses - is basically not designed to offer skills
to the lesser-educated people.
Thus, there is a great need for employability and outcome-based training
courses and its delivery. Today, we find that a lot of jobs available in
the market do not require two- or three-year courses. For a lot of entry
level jobs across industries, the skills required warrant merely focused
short-duration courses. The modular structure of short courses allows a
professional to upgrade his skills without compromising on his earning
capacity in order to undergo a long duration training programme and also
provides him with the flexibility to acquire this at his convenience.
Development Alternatives has been a pioneer in shouldering the
responsibility in providing training through modular structure of short
courses and upgrading existing skills.
With climate change becoming a regular feature of worry and news in
media, adapting to and mitigating climate change will entail a
transition to new patterns of production, consumption and employment. A
new approach to assessment is imminent. Huge opportunities exist to
create green jobs through energy and industrialisation policies that
reduce the environmental footprint. These jobs can provide decent work
and incomes that will contribute to sustainable economic growth and help
lift people out of poverty. Green jobs are central to the positive link
that needs to be established between climate change and development of a
sustainable economy. A sustainable economy is one which makes lower
demands on natural resources; which is much more energy efficient; which
uses energy from renewable sources; and which does not generate
pollution and wastes and is labour-intensive, producing long-lasting,
durable jobs. These are none but ‘Green Jobs’.
There is an urgent need to think of alternatives available with us to
bring about a revolution in imparting skills to the youth. We need to
invest in public high schools, vocational colleges and community
colleges to begin training people in the green-collar work of the
future: solar-panel installation, retrofitting buildings that are
leaking energy, wastewater reclamation, organic food, materials reuse
and recycling. We need to assess the prevailing conditions and the
climate change and bring out solutions that will encourage
sustainability.
Training and skill development has become the next frontier on which
India needs to invest. q
Bhavana Gadre
bgadre@devalt.org
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