siliconindia | | October 20188BUILDING SKILLS FOR TODAY & PREPARING FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTUREith 15 million youth entering the labour force each year, more than 75 percent are not job-ready. India will need 700 million skilled workers by 2022 to meet the demands of a rising economy. This stark imbalance, due to the absence of technical and soft skills, plugs towards the dynamic and rising need to make young Indians job-ready, focusing on young graduates to supplement their employability.For example, the country presently faces a huge scarcity of sales associates, computer operators, beauticians, hair stylists, medical sales agents, mobile repair engineers, plumbers, electricians, sewing machine operators, masons, bartenders, and painter-decorators. Yet, the limited concern we have for vocational training and skill development has led to decades of neglect of these skills. There is a growing need to make drastic amends to resolve the great Indian talent conundrum. To make the most of this demographic dividend that we, as a country own, the maiden step towards this is to rejoice skills and receive their need and importance with an open mind, just like China.Once this due respect to skills is given, there is a necessity to support the tech growth with investment in skills and knowledge to prepare for the future. Revamping the education system can help bridge the aptitude gap staring at us, particularly at the school and college level, as it forms the first step into the professional world. Colleges need to work together with industries to draw-out a curriculum that entails and incorporates technological education and advancements.ChallengesIt is generally held that knowledge, skills, and ingenuity of persons are acute to withstand development, economic, and social action in an information society. Given the present high-paced development and lively investment climate in India, the call for knowledge workers with high levels of practical and soft skills will only increase. With growth taking place across various sectors, such as banking & financial services, retail, manufacturing, pharmacy, SMBs, outsourcing/offshoring companies, service providers, and others, there already exists a huge requirement for IT talent. The gap between demand & supply is widening the situation. A look at the Indian education system will disclose that the number of technical schools in India, in addition to engineering colleges, has in fact more than trebled in the last decade. Several professionals believe that top-level leadership plays an important role in shaping the accomplishment of skill development efforts. Thus, connecting education and skills via joint programs of the Ministry of Human Resource & Development (HRD) and labour will deliver clarity of track to the performing bodies and avoid administrative difficulties. Top talent for management roles can be attracted by proposing better pay and freedom in decision-making. This would inspire ITIs/ITCs to involve more effectively with industry and deliver a rich exercise experience to students. Limited growth has been made in integrating skills-based training at the school level. Developed European countries like Germany, Switzerland and Finland have well established outline to present vocational education at a young age. While some initiatives have been started in Kar-nataka, this remains a big area of concern. Further, the legal regime in this nation poses obstacles to reaching potential in skill building, whereas absence of regulation across courses, informational asymmetry and industry-curriculum misalign-ment are some of the other tests that outbreak the delivery of skill education.Ideas to Bridge the Skill Gap in IndiaThe Indian government has taken numerous initiatives to support SMEs. It recognizes that these industries donate hugely to the country's economic progress and also hire a huge number of people. They have the prospective to contest with most global industrial hubs. Yet, they are constrained. The scarcity for skilled manpower is one of the main areas of concern for Indian SMEs. While about 15 million applicants enter the workforce every year, nearly 75 percent are not By Shaheen Khan, Founder & Director, Council of Education & Development Programmes (CEDP) Skill Institutein my opinionWHeadquartered in Mumbai, CEDP is one of India's best skill-based institute which provides training in the areas of Paramedical, Automotive, Hotel Management, Industrial Safety, Financial Accounting & Management and other areas.
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