Editorial

Enterprise Education – A New Dimension in the Skill Development

The country today needs skilled workers and others with skills in engineering, research, accountancy, law, and a hundred other subjects. However what is needed most are perhaps leaders and visionaries who have the insights to establish the businesses of tomorrow. Considering the vast size and population of India, it has a shortage of well-run, well-managed companies. Such companies are necessary because they add value to the economy and….Read More


13 Underrated Skills that agencies look for in New Hires

There are a number of traits that employers look for when hiring new talent. However, sometimes there are skills not included in a traditional job listing that can add exponential value to a position or company. We asked members of the Forbes Agency Council about their thoughts on the most under-appreciated skills and traits that a potential candidate should have. Their best answers are below. 1. Creative Problem-Solving So much of the creative work we do is actually problem-solving….Read More


Why skill development is the key to transformation of hydrocarbon sector

by Sanjay Kumar Kar (HOD, RGIPT), Biswajit Ray (CEO, HSSC)

Employment is a concern across the globe; it has a direct linkage with skill of the potential workforce. As per the International Labor Organization’s estimates, India’s ‘employment to population ratio’ just stood close to 52%, lower than the World average of 58% [1], even lower than BRICS average of 58.9%. Essentially, India’s 48% of the working-age population–above 15 years is unemployed. It is very difficult to estimate what percent would be beyond their active employment life….Read More


Rebooting the system for a skills upgrade

Small shops, basements, tin sheds and godowns. These are not random workplaces but places where private Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) are running in the country. Disturbing facts such as these come from the report of the Standing Committee on Labour (2017-18) headed by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirit Somaiya, on the “Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Skill Development Initiative Scheme” of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE….Read More


Using blockchain technology to better skill development certification

Skill India Mission, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious projects, completes three years in July 2018, and the movement has been quite notable. Post the formation of the Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in 2015, most efforts towards skilling India under various departments and ministries were brought under the MSDE for better coordination and elimination of duplication in such endeavours. Sadly, the MSDE has failed to achieve any breakthrough….Read More


Today’s Skills for Today’s Workers, Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative gets traction aligning training with needs

based on Debra Gibson Isaacs write-up

A $150 million investment from the private sector, 40 new public/private partnerships, and 30,000 new seats for technical training are three of the early benefits coming from the Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative (KWRSI). Funded by the 2016 General Assembly, KWRSI – Kentucky’s $100 million investment in the state’s workforce – is the largest investment of its kind anywhere in the country, according to Hal Heiner, who previously served as secretary of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet before accepting an April 16 appointment to the Kentucky Board of Education. “We intend to make….Read More


New way to learn Vocational Skills without paying a single penny unless you land with job of $50,000

based on write-up of Barry Stuart Strauss

San Francisco : Yes that true ! MissionU is a one-year vocational-training program that serves as an alternative to college. It’s just one example of a larger trend of job-focused programs in place of university degrees. It makes me sad because students who opt for vocational training are denied the benefits of a liberal education; glad because students who complete their higher education in a year dodge a big debt bullet while also training for a job; sad because the goal of higher education for all works better in theory than in practice; sad also because liberal education isn’t what it used to be. More about all that….Read More


Skill development indicators are a necessity, says NITI Aayog experts

by Sunita Sanghi, Sakshi Khurana and Lakshmi Parvathy, Senior Advisers and Young Professionals, NITI Aayog

Skill development has emerged as a key strategy to realize the potential of a young workforce with an average age of 29, by enhancing their employability. The National Skill Development Mission launched by the Union government envisions skilling at scale with speed and standards, with a focus on strengthening institutional training, infrastructure, convergence, training of trainers, overseas employment, sustainable livelihoods and leveraging public infrastructure. The national policy for skill development and entrepreneurship 2015 provides an enabling framework to realize this vision. The policy framework….Read More


Skill Adjacency: The L&D mantra to future-proof IT workforce

As technological advancements become complex, there is an increasing demand for IT professionals to diversify their skillsets. Employees specializing in single skillset may soon become a thing of the past. Continuous learning is, therefore, a necessity to advance one’s career and stay relevant in the job market. This is true for both technical and behavioral skills. This new reality is forcing L&D professionals to offer new learning paths for technology professionals, aimed at upskilling employees for today’s and tomorrow’s business. How exactly can L&D leaders in IT enable and empower their people….Read More


India Is The Nation Of The Most Unemployed In The World: Labour Bureau Statistics

by Javed Anis of Charkha Features

According to the Labour Bureau statistics, India has, today, become the nation of the most unemployed in the world; in the inclusive growth index we are at number sixty and in this case, we are far behind our neighbours. On the economic development front, inequality and increasing unemployment is the biggest challenge for the fast emerging India. Self-employment opportunities are declining in the country and jobs are continuously decreasing. But at the same time, another picture is that India is one of the fastest growing peak economies in the world. At some point in time, we have managed to climb up 30….Read More


The Future of Work Relies on Your Developing These 5 Team Skills

by Heather R. Huhman, Founder and President, Come Recommended

A change-or-die moment may be coming to your business: Across multiple industries, disruptive changes are happening more and more frequently. And if employees don’t have the right skills to keep up, employers will face an ever-widening skills gap. In February, the Institute for the Future and Cornerstone On Demand released a report that identified five “super skills” that will “groom people for just about anything.” By “super skills,” the nonprofit Institute and the talent management software company — both based in California — meant workplace training and experiences that will allow employees to adapt and….Read More


Why do an apprenticeship? Vocational training pros and cons, and why Confucius encouraged the practice

Last year, Hong Kong’s Vocational Training Council (VTC) urged local companies to take on more apprentices to support a drive to promote vocational training among young people. An apprenticeship is essentially training on the job – “learning and earning” as it were. In some countries they are very highly regarded. Switzerland, for example, which has one of Europe’s lowest youth unemployment rates, has a long history of combining classroom learning with on-the-job experience and two-thirds of students opt for such vocational training. It is clearly a system that works well for the Swiss, an affluent country….Read More


Skill development: Its need and relevance in the current employment milieu

by Moin Qazi, PhD in Economics and English

The decision to place ‘inequality’ at the centre of the proceedings of the World Economic Forum at Davos has generated a lot of hope and promise. However, the actual solutions still remain elusive and undeveloped. The anguish and concern in the speeches about the widening economic disparities within many countries, does not seem to be supported by the sincerity in policies and action. Globalisation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution have increased the pace of change in labour markets….Read More


Skills Development in A&D sector – Agenda to create high quality jobs in India

— by D. Peter Immanuel,CEO,AASSC and Anurag Garg, PwC

The Indian Government has shown resolve over the past 3-4 years to reform the Aerospace and Defence (A&D) sector in India, introducing steps to liberalize the set-up like de-licensing a lot of A&D areas, driving policy to enable ‘Make-in-India’ in principle (Strategic Partnerships, IDDM). However, a lot of first degree issues need to be resolved, namely the need for higher budgetary allocation for capital spend, time bound closure of critical programs, and impending announcement of Strategic Partnerships….Read More


Need of the hour : a skill development legislation

Skill development has been one of the most talked about subjects over the past decade. Suddenly, in 2007, it was realised that India was a young country — it had tremendous potential for skill development, as all the ageing, developed economies would depend on India for skilled and trained manpower. The person behind this realisation was the late Dr CK Prahlad and his presentation on ‘India@75’. He wished to see 500 million skilled manpower in India by 2022. Following this, the….Read More


Future of ITIs

Both vocational training and institutions like the Industrial Training Institutes have been under the radar of state and central government for years now. Established in almost all states, the training institutes have either remained stagnant or in worst cases gone down the hill. While state and union governments have been on the same page on human resource development, particularly to enhance skill based training and make industry-ready work force, the training institutes have….Read More


Its the time to rethink the need of skilling India

by Srinath Sridharan and Aparajit Pandey

Young and aspirational, the millennial generation that makes up about 40% of India’s population has long been regarded as the saviour and driver of future economic growth. Yet, the gap between the productive labour force and the employment and entrepreneurial opportunities available to them continues to widen. The fourth Industrial Revolution has already made its mark on certain sectors. The economic turmoil that could be brought on by further large-scale disruption….Read More


Apprenticeship vs a degree: Which will earn you the most?

by Dan Satherley

A new report has cast doubt on the perceived wisdom that getting a degree is a ticket to financial success. Economists at BERL crunched the numbers, and found people who get an apprenticeship end up just as financially secure as their academic counterparts and more of their earnings come sooner. “What we observe is that under our assumptions, the net financial position of degree holders and apprentices at the end of their careers is almost exactly the same,” the Modelling costs….Read More


Future of Work and Skills for the 4th Industrial Revolution : Case of India, 8th Bosphorus Summit

by MagdyMartinezSoliman

I am very pleased to be participating to this session on the future of work and skills for the 4th Industrial Revolution, together with distinguished representatives from the Government of India. This is a timely opportunity to shed light on how to prepare the workforce of the future, and ensure that no one is left behind by doing so. Providing decent and productive work to disadvantaged groups is a significant global and national challenge everywhere. The global youth unemployment….Read More


Unemployment at 17.8 million: India needs to look at skills development through multiple lenses

by Yoshita Arora

There is a constant demand to create jobs and improve skill sets across developing nations. As per a UN report, unemployment in India is estimated to be 17.8 million in 2017. Further, there is a need to upgrade the skill sets of people significantly. There is a need for 10 crore additional skilled personnel by 2022 in the country whereas 30 crore of the existing workforce requires further skilling. Governments and the non-profit sectors across countries (including India) are designing….Read More


How the UK Apprenticeship Levy is getting implemented and how employers can leverage to overcome skill shortage?

by Ann Watson, Chief Executive, Semta Group

Our industry produces endless reports about skills shortages, and by one estimate we need two million more engineers by 2025. There are numerous campaigns to tackle the issue, focusing on one issue or another – recruiting more women, encouraging older people to take up apprenticeships and ensuring UK engineering has the right skills supply post-Brexit. A key driver of employer behaviour is government policy. With the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, those paying it are….Read More


PMKVY -Reasons for failure

by M Binoy, SkillTech

PMKVY is a failure because of the following reasons : 1. Lack of Sensitization : The Govt failed to a large extent in sensitization of the program at the grass root level,while it focused on other criteria like partners linkages and exhausting the ambitious skilling target and achieving numbers as promised by the Govt, lack of awareness amongst the actual needy beneficiaries residing in remote villages,tribal areas, interior slums never happened the way other Govt initiatives like….Read More


USTTAD Scheme: Modi’s minority scheme yet to address the minorities

by Siddhant Mohan

Soon after Narendra Modi took charge as the Prime Minister of the country, he announced several schemes for the welfare of minorities in the country. One such scheme was USTTAD, which was announced in the year 2014. Standing for the ‘Upgrading Skill and Training in Traditional Arts for Development’, the USTTAD scheme, unfortunately, is yet to reach minorities of the country. The Union ministry of minority affairs launched the scheme in 2015 from the Narendra Modi’s constituency….Read More


‘Skills Gap’ is just a Myth, real challenge is knitting together of supply and demand sides

by Andrew Weaver

The contention that America’s workers lack the skills employers demand is an article of faith among analysts, politicians, and pundits of every stripe, from conservative tax cutters to liberal advocates of job training. Technology enthusiasts and entrepreneurs are among the loudest voices declaiming this conventional wisdom. Two recent developments have heightened debate over the idea of a “skills gap”: an unemployment rate below 5 percent, and the growing fear that automation….Read More


Vocational Education and Training Industry Service Providers taught a lesson in the Federal Court

by Piper Alderman

Vocational education providers have been on the top of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s hit list. In the last two months alone, the Federal Court has ruled against three major service providers, Get Qualified Australia Pty Ltd, Acquire Learning and Careers Pty Ltd and Unique International College Pty Ltd. Thousands of consumers have suffered loss as a result of the misconduct by these major service providers. Vocational education providers have been on the top….Read More


Why Skill India must be connected with India Inc ?

by Shri Ashoke Joshi, Chairman, Srinivasan Services Trust, social arm of TVS Motor Company

The last census indicated that India is set to experience a ‘demographic dividend’ by 2020, where 65% Indians will be under the age of 35, making us the youngest country in the world. Home to a large employable populace, it is an advantage, for it can fulfil the demand for skilled workers across India and globally. However, we need to leverage this demographic dividend with caution, else it can turn into demographic….Read More


Skilling manpower rapidly an urgent need in Indian logistics sector

by Abhishek Rathi, JBS Academy

Indian logistics sector is on a growth trajectory buoyed by robust industrial demand. Traditionally comprising core service providers and issuing key contracts for trucking, shipping, Inland Container Depot and Container Freight Stations, the requirement has been witnessed for varied skill sets in this domain. This is primarily due to the emergence of multiple modes of transport of cargo using rail, road and sea links, all needing….Read More


Race against Algorithms!

by Faisal Kawoosa, Principal Analyst, CMR

Retrenchments in IT and ITeS sector of India is a buzz word as well as a matter of grave concern these days.  There may be an effect of so called ‘Trump’ localization drive where he would be attempting preference for creating jobs in US than helping other countries create opportunities.  But, what’s more worrying at an alarming rate for a services oriented economy like India…..Read More


Skill development initiatives need more momentum to keep pace with the rapid changes in global trade development programmes

by Samir J Shah, Chief Mentor and Director, JBS Academy Pvt. Ltd

The recent upsurge in trade development policies, especially with the recent Indian ratification of Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) coupled with India’s desire to account for 3.5% of the total world’s export from the present 2%, calls for brisk implementation of skill development initiatives. Provision of adequate training to the workforce at an institutional level seems all the more…..Read More


Skills for Change

Skills are finally gaining recognition and there is a new appreciation of the importance of performing tasks in a culture that has put a premium on theoretical knowledge in the past. The growing pressure to create jobs for millions of youngsters, combined with increasing demand for talent, has put skill development at the center of economic policy making…..Read More


Growth of AI Means We Need To Retrain Workers… Now

Picture a future where a robot suggests where to go for dinner, which meetings to take or which hotel you should stay at during an important client event. That’s just an example of the impact artificial intelligence (AI) can have on the ways we work and interact with one another. When Apple first introduced Siri in 2011, it had just scratched the surface in terms of….Read More


How demonetization and digital economy contributing to boost Education and Skill Development in India

— by Rachit Jain, CEO and Founder, Youth4Work

In its efforts to create opportunities for skill development in the country, India’s government constantly studies to provide students with the technical knowledge of various vocations. The launch of Skill India Mission strives to create a skilled workforce nationwide. The skill development scenario is expected to increase through the improvement and development….Read More


Laying exclusive focus on eradicating ‘Gender Inequality’ in education not most ideal way to increase participation in schools : Study

UK : Laying exclusive focus on eradicating gender inequality in education in the world’s poorest countries might not be the most ideal way to increase participation in schools, two University of Cambridge educationalists have warned. The warning has been issued in response to the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Last year, education experts….Read More


Budget 2017 and Education : Why India needs to think global

— by Narayanan Ramaswamy, Head, Education & Skill Development, KPMG in India

The Union Budget is going to be an interesting exercise this year—with expectations that the surplus from demonetization will be used for development initiatives such as education and skill development. Regardless, they should be looked at as an investment for the growth agenda, rather than as a development element. In the past many Union Budgets, allocation….Read More


Government should look at vocational education as equivalent to normal education

— by Gayatri Vasudevan, CEO and Co-founder of LabourNet

The annual budget in 2016 focused adequately on skilling, new job creation, and research-focused higher education which would help in new job creations both in manufacturing and service sector. NDA Government has always emphasized on skill development since its formation; a provision of Rs 1,700 crore was made for setting up 1,500 multi-skill training institutes….Read More


Disruption using innovation in Assessments

— Aashish Batra, Senior Consultant, Ernst & Young LLP

Vocational skill development is a high priority area in the present government’s agenda. With importance to ‘movements’ like Make-in-India and Swachh Bharat, Skill-India remains at the core of supporting such ‘movements’ with the availability of skilled manpower. To promote the Skill-India initiative, the government recently extended PMKVY, an INR 1,500 Crore scheme to skill 2.4 million people in a year, to an INR 12,000 Crore scheme to skill 10 million people in 4 years. The PMKVY 2.0 gives renewed impetus to coordinated skill development by placing quality and consistency at its heart. While there is a lot of stress on creating capacity and funding for training skilled manpower, there are far and few in between examples of promoting and aggregating the demand side of skilled manpower employment.

If we sit back and analyse, assessments is the last piece in the training cycle of the candidate, but, it is the first piece in the employment cycle. A candidate’s skills report card, just a like a high school pass-out’s report card, acts (or should act) as a stepping stone towards a job. While that’s an idealistic view, it’s far for reality in the present scenario. That said, there is opportunity in the challenge. Third party assessment and certification is a key mechanism of quality assurance in the skill ecosystem in the world, and will also be the defining feature of the skills ecosystem in India. India, according to the National Policy of Skill Development 2015, plans to train 420 million people by the end of 2022, and assessments play an eminent role to measure the aptitude, knowledge and skill of any candidate that moves through the ecosystem. While there has been a lot of effort put in to define the criteria for assessments by Sector Skill Councils, the delivery of assessments on ground through multiple assessment agencies still poses a huge challenge in terms of the quality, efficacy and diligence of assessments.

As the skills ecosystem in India evolves, it is fair to assume that greater attention will be paid to quality assurance of training and assessments. Third party assessments are not only important for providing an independent score card of a candidate aptitude, knowledge and skill for potential employers and future learning, but also important to strive to be closer to the global benchmarks on skill development.

Connecting assessments with jobs using technology – Disruption

There are multiple models that can be looked at to achieve the goal of linking the supply and the demand side of skilled manpower in India.

  1. Video Resumes – Assessments are nothing but extended interviews!

The validation of effective training, in the domain of vocational skill development, is the competency that the candidate showcases for a particular job role at the end of training. The overall training lifecycle for a candidate ends at the assessment when the candidate is tested not only on the theory of what he/she has learned, but also, and more importantly on the competency/practical knowledge of the skillset he/she possesses. While assessment is important for independent evidence of a learner’s acquired skills, it is also important for both, potential employers and progression to further learning.

This is where capturing audio and videos of each assessment becomes important. The videos can act as a bridge to effectively connect the job seeker with the employer with a click of a button.  The videos can be shrunk to compatible storage size and used by a potential employer by accessing the central portal. These assessment videos may act as a first level interview to filter out candidate and facilitate a faster and more efficient hiring tool. Further, this may also lead to candidates saving on costs around travel etc. while commuting a distance for an interview.

Example – Multiple technologies developed by assessment agencies are prevalent while none of them have cracked the operational model of:
1. Capturing an effective assessment video that can be used as a partial interview
2. Mapping the demand with supply

To add to this, dissemination of such information (read: videos) can be remunerative to the agencies itself. Maybe disruptive enough to make assessment agencies the largest staffing companies in the vocational domain. Think about it – simply posting of demographic details on a job portal never gets you a job. If it did, Monster.com, Naukri.com and the likes would be the largest staffing companies. Disruption is important and this might be the answer.

  1. Hybrid model à giving technology its arms and legs on the groundà computers are old, moving robots is the future

While it important to use technology as a medium of efficient connect between the candidate and the employer, it might not be the sole answer to the challenges of MSME and rural skills development on ground. While technology (apps and websites) may be available to list the available jobs and trained job seekers, the use of the technology may be limited. The reasons around this can be multifold:

  • Employers not confident of using the technology
  • Employers not willing to post jobs online
  • The shift from traditional contractual hiring in MSME to direct hiring
  • The inability/incompetence to use technology by both job seekers and employers
  • Dynamic ecosystem with challenges of migration etc.

To mitigate the above mentioned challenge(s) it is important that technology be aided by people to facilitate use of technology on the ground.Today, various mobile app companies are giving their apps hands and legs – Uber is one such example. Mobile apps are trying to organize the unorganized rural retail market by empowering Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) that order anything from clothes to computers for the rural consumer on a mobile app, thereby exploiting the inability or unwillingness to order using technology.

In the skills ecosystem, Common Service Centres, ITC eChopals and other government and private infrastructure maybe used as arms and legs of this technology. The CSCs may help to collate local demand from MSMEs and industries in a radius of 100km which feeds in the app/website and every assessment video/result of the candidate feeds in as an input for the same.

Example – Rozagarduniya à a venture of Monster and ITC eChopal

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the author of the article. The matter of this article has not been edited skillreporter.com. SkillReporter shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.) 

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