Development through skill development

Ranjan K Baruah *

We have been publishing articles related to different career opportunities. These are helpful for the students who are either studying or have finished formal education and striving for jobs. However, there are millions of young people in the country who cannot do well in formal education.

Some of them are drop out because of many problem in the family or locality and some do not get marks which are required to qualify for exams or entrances. As we are a populated country and every individual is important for the country, so, we cannot ignore then force which do not have higher education. In this regard the key word that comes in the lime light is skill development or skill education.

Today, India is one of the youngest nations in the world with more than 62% of its population in the working age group (15-59 years), and more than 54% of its total population below 25 years of age. Its population pyramid is expected to bulge across the 1559 age group over the next decade.

It is further estimated that the average age of the population in India by 2020 will 1 be 29 years as against 40 years in USA, 46 years in Europe and 47 years in Japan. In fact, during the next 20 years the labour force in the industrialized world is expected to decline by 4%, while in India it will increase by 32%. This poses a formidable challenge and a huge opportunity. To reap this demographic dividend which is expected to last for next 25 years, India needs to equip its workforce with employable skills and knowledge so that they can contribute substantively to the economic growth of the country.

Skill development, however, cannot be viewed in isolation. It is estimated that during the five year period from 2004-05 to 2009-10, only 2.7 million net additional jobs were created in the country. For a skills strategy to be successful it should be complemented by commensurate creation of jobs in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors which will be a key outcome of overall economic growth including entrepreneurship cutting across all sectors.

The Indian capacity for harnessing entrepreneurship has not been fully realized the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector contributes to only 17% of GDP as 3 compared to 85% in Taiwan, 60% in China and 50% in Singapore. Given the realities of rapidly changing economic landscape in the country, entrepreneurship opportunities have emerged as an important source of meeting the aspirations of the youth.

Skill development and entrepreneurship efforts across the country have been highly fragmented so far. As opposed to developed countries, where the percentage of skilled workforce is between 60% and 90% of the total workforce, India records a low 5% of workforce (20-24 years) with formal vocational skills. Today, more than 20 Ministries/Departments run 70 plus schemes for skill development in the country.

However, there are gaps in the capacity and quality of training infrastructure as well as outputs, insufficient focus on workforce aspirations, lack of certification and common standards and a pointed lack of focus on the unorganized sector.

Recognizing the need and urgency of quickly coordinating the efforts of all concerned stakeholders in the field of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India notified the formation of the Department of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship on 31st July, 2014 which subsequently led to the creation of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship on 10th Nov, 2014.

We shall publish details related to National Skill Development Fund, National Skill Development Corporation, Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship, etc., in our next edition.

Updates –

Indian Navy: Indian Navy invites application from unmarried male Indian citizens for recruitment of steward, cook and topass (Sanitary Hygienists) for batch 01/2017, course commencing from April 2017. Last date for registration of online application is 19th June.

Territorial Army: Aspirants may apply for Territorial Army as a civilian or as a soldier. Age limits from 18 to 42 years and last date of applying is 30th June. Written test would be held on 31st July. One may also build his or her career through skill enhancement. Present government is also focusing on skill India and skilling the young generations.

Skill development is more important for youths who are not good in studies or drop out for various reasons. Some trades needs qualified persons too. In simple we may say that youths who are struggling to get a job may try and explore options related to skills. Here are some agencies and institutes which are related to skill development.

National Skill Development Fund: The National Skill Development Fund was set up in 2009 by the Government of India for raising funds both from Government and Non Government sectors for skill development in the country. The Fund is contributed by various Government sources, and other donors/ contributors to enhance, stimulate and develop the skills of Indian youth by various sector specific programs.

A public Trust set up by the Government of India is the custodian of the Fund. The Trust accepts donation, contribution in cash or kind from the Contributors for furtherance of objectives of the Fund. The Fund is operated and managed by the Board of Trustees. The Chief Executive Officer of the Trust is responsible for day-to-day administration and management of the Trust.

Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE): The Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) was established in the year 1993 in Guwahati by the erstwhile Ministry of Industry (now the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), Government of India as an autonomous national institute with an aim to undertake training, research and consultancy activities in small and micro enterprises focusing on entrepreneurship development.

The institute began operating from April 1994 with the North East Council (NEC), Governments of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland and SIDBI as its other stakeholders.

It is also An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Organisation. Its objectives are to promote and develop entrepreneurship, to conduct research and provide consultancy for entrepreneurship development, to coordinate and collaborate with other organizations in undertaking training, research and other activities to increase outreach of the institute, to provide consultancy and monitoring service to MSMEs/ potential entrepreneurs and enhancing employability of participants, to promote greater use of information technology in the activities/ functions of the IIE, to comply with statutory responsibility.

National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015: The objective of the National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015 will be to meet the challenge of skilling at scale with speed and standard (quality). It will aim to provide an umbrella framework to all skilling activities being carried out within the country, to align them to common standards and link the skilling with demand centres.

In addition to laying down the objectives and expected outcomes, the effort will also be to identify the various institutional frameworks which can act as the vehicle to reach the expected outcomes. The national policy will also provide clarity and coherence on how skill development efforts across the country can be aligned within the existing institutional arrangements. This policy will link skills development to improved employability and productivity.

Updates:

The Sanskriti Pratishthan has instituted an annual Sanskriti – Kalakriti Fellowship in Performing Arts for young performing artists who wish to contribute towards enriching their respective art form. The scheme is managed by the Sanskriti Pratishthan, which has been giving similar awards over the past 25 years.

The main objective of these fellowships is to promote excellence and encourage young promising artists to advance in their field. It should enable the recipient to have the resources and time to dedicate to their art form.

The Fellowship is only open to Indian Nationals in the age group of 25 to 40. There is another fellowships named as Sanskriti – Madhobi Chatterji Memorial Fellowship by the same organisation . Last date for sending application is 30th June.