Up-Skilling India in the modern Digital Age

People are known as "Human Resources" in companies. We do need to understand that human beings are actually valuable resources. Have we really understood this in India ? We need to examine and address this to make our country truly enriched and complete.

Industry Stats:

In an article published in January 2018 by Economic Times, it was stated that 85% of engineers are not suitable for hiring. If this is the situation of engineers, then we can understand the condition of Diploma and ITI's .

This is true globally also, as we can see in the statistics below -

Image Source : Forbes

We do know that people are of course a great potential resource. Still, everyone needs skills to become resources else they become useless in their lives and a liability for  the nation. We do know that more than half of India’s population of 1.3 billion is below the age of 25.  It is also estimated that the average age of India’s population will be 29 by 2020. This may prove to be disastrous rather than a source of growth, if we do not create sufficient employment opportunities, and adequately prepare our young workforce.

There are a number of existing skill initiatives, including Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), Vocational Training Institutes for Women, Advanced Training Institutes run by the Directorate of General Training (DGT). There are also some basic Training Centres and Related Instructions Centres by private firms or the government. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) of the Central Government, training conducted by several ministries and departments such as agriculture, housing and poverty alleviation, women and child development, commerce and industry, Bachelor of Vocation (B.Voc) and Diploma of Vocation (D.Voc) by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, among others, it is not what the industry needs.

We at Digital India recognised this lacunae and took it upon ourselves to tap into the potential of the nation.

Even with such a lot of effort, India has formally trained very few of  the total workforce (15-59 years of age) of about 487 million people in India. Just 7 percent are in the formal sector.

Where is the lacunae ?

We found that “inadequate industry interface” is one of the major issues facing the vocational education and training system in India. It is important to create a vocational education and training ecosystem where industry’s role in this space cannot be overlooked. One needs input in the design and curriculum of courses from the industry so that the skills that are taught are in line the needs of employers.

The lack of industry involvement in vocational education and training as one of the key challenges faced by the skill development sector today. This has many aspects like involvement in delivery, management of institutions and curriculum design. This has created a situation where many participants in skills training programs remain unfit for employment after completion.

Image Source : phdcci.in

Some of the causes are

a. Lack of involvement

When we need to work for industry, we have to get involved with them else there would be a total mismatch of the skills.

We at Digital Marketing understood what a key area which is necessary in today's digital age is how to remain connected and leverage the advantages of the digital world.

Our students learn how to experience the power of the digital world, leverage numerous apps, tools and techniques for one's career and business growth.  and position one's contact on the web, mobile and social media.  

By doing so, we are certain we shall create a smaller, better and more equipped to handle the emerging world and make oneself so much in demand that jobs come looking for us and we do not ever have to worry about ever getting placed.

Some of the causes and solutions for them are given below

To overcome this, we have a complete involvement to understand what the industry needs which is what we are always trying to address.We follow the following -

b. Standardization
We standardise the syllabus in all sectors so that there is never a confusion or gap in what people are looking for. Then the training given is effective and placements shall indeed take place,

c.  Evaluation

We do continuous evaluation to assess the student at all stages so there is continuous improvement in their skills. This includes both theoretical and practical assessments to made the model a complete one.

d. Aspirations

A further issue that is considered is alignment of skill initiatives with youth aspirations and preferences.

e. Adaptation

Last but definitely not the least, despite the dominant approach of providing job specific skills, we give skills that allows individuals to adapt. We have realized this to enable our youth to achieve their full potential. On top of that, due to changes in the structure of the labour market, and increasing technological adoption, we provide skill premiums that are found in soft skills, interpersonal skills, creativity and critical thinking. Moving forward these we feel should be central to skill development strategies.

Meeting the challenge

As we have seen, essentially, given the extent of the employ-ability challenge, India must find innovative ways of skilling and educating its population. 

We have a strategy that ensures that industry plays a key role in shaping skill development programmes. We know certification of skills training in India needs to be standardised, so that there is quality of delivery and trust among employers. We have also included  a long-term skill development strategy that accounts for persistent gender gaps in training and labour force participation, as well as youth aspirations and the need for solid basic education. Essentially, we have found that to chart a path towards inclusive growth, India must find effective ways of skilling, up-skilling and re-skilling its rising youth population.

We focus on all these areas to ensure that our nation makes effective use of our youth to make them a complete resource. 

By ensuring both the industry and students are happy, we at Digital Marketing  aim at creating a truly win win situation. Our have associations in various fora to ensure that we stay updated in all the happenings and requirements in the globalised world today.

By doing so, we aim to create success stories ensuring India uses all its potential and thus truly shines as the capital of human resources.

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