Tuesday

15


September , 2020
‘Skilling in India’ and ‘Skilling for the World’
19:11 pm

Ramgopal Agarwala


On July 15, 2015, while launching the ‘Skill India’ initiative in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Note my words, in the coming decades the workforce requirements of the world will be fulfilled only by India...We need to map the human resource requirement not only for India but also for the world. Let’s equip our generation.”

He went on to say, “Today, China has made its place in the world and has become one of the world’s manufacturing factories. If China is identified as the world’s manufacturing factory, then India has the potential to become a capital of the required human resources of the world. We have to focus on our available strength.”

This emphasis on skill formation not only for meeting India’s needs but also for exports is appropriate. The emphasis is perhaps more needed than the emphasis on the manufacturing sector for several reasons. First, from the global perspective, there is excess supply in most manufacturing sectors and excess demand in skills and this situation is likely to persist for quite some time. India will be more successful in areas where there is excess demand than in areas where there is a supply glut. Second, our educated youth has preference for ‘behind the desk jobs’ over factory floor jobs and meeting skills requirements of India and the world will be in line with the aspirations of the country’s youth. Export focus is also eminently justified because the prospect of well-paid foreign jobs makes skilling highly needed and a matter of aspiration. Moreover, effective quality control mechanisms in training are introduced through markets rather than through administrative means - which often fail in India.

Unfortunately, despite the Prime Minister’s support and setting up of a separate department for development of skills and entrepreneurship, progress in this area has been limited. We are nowhere near fulfilling the goal of training 40 crore youth by 2022. Not much effort has been made to map the world’s excess demand in various skills and organise the skilling programmes to meet those needs. The process of registration of training institutions has been slow and many well-meaning efforts in the private sector for promoting skilling has been frustrated. It may be true that some training institutions run by the private sector have produced poor quality training and become instruments for making money. But this is where the karmayogis of the screening institutions of the government have to improve their performance and develop capacity to accord prompt support to genuine private sector institutions and squelch the activities of the misguided ones.

Since this is a vital area for our future progress, the country needs more vigorous efforts in this area. We have four suggestions for consideration of the government. First, the sectors needing skills must be entrusted with the responsibility for designing and running the training courses required for their sectors. We have much to learn from Germany in this area. These institutions must have the responsibility for placement in India and abroad on the basis of pre-arranged contracts wherever possible. Certain periods of internship (which may also include foreign assignments) at modest pay will be a requirement for getting the degree as is already the case in skilling for medical and accountancy practices. In coordination with the central department, these institutions will link up with employers in different countries and prepare graduates with the relevant training in the language and culture of the importing country.

Secondly, the concept of special economic zones so effectively practiced by China for manufacturing, can also be applied for skilling. In line with the Shenzhen style of SEZ in China, a large area with a fully functional ecosystem could be set aside for foreign training institutes to come and set up offices in India for meeting the needs of India and foreign countries. Special privileges regarding taxation and customs will enable world-class human resource institutions to make home in India. These institutions will of course provide training in a wide range of skills as needed by the world market. But in the near-term, focus may be on skills in health service, teaching in schools, IT and accountancy in addition to low level skills such as automobile handling, construction work, plumbing etc. By promoting skilling institutions in the PPP mode with provision for viability gap funding, we can attract a huge amount of private sector interest in this area.

With respect to regional focus for exports, India’s skill suppliers have traditionally looked to the west - in particular the UK, the US and the Middle-East. These markets will remain important in the future with the addition of the continent of Africa. But time has come for a ‘Look East Policy’ in this area as well. East Asian countries are aging rapidly and are likely to face supply shortage in the medium term. We should start exploring these markets now. This is the third suggestion.

Fourthly, the ‘Look East Policy’ will also have an important component in terms of location of these training institutes in eastern India - in particular the eight states of the North East and the chicken neck of North Bengal. These areas have an advantage in terms of knowledge of English and share cultural affinities with East Asia. Training institutes located in these areas may have a rich clientage for export of skills in Asia.

 
 

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