Punjab Government plans course correction to bridge skill gap

Chandigarh: Amid rumbling from the industry about the poor skill level of students graduating from state technical institutes, and their reluctance to hire unqualified job-seekers has pushed the state government on a course correction to bridge the gap. To make the candidates match the qualification standard of the industry, the Punjab government has decided to revise the curriculum of different courses being offered by technical institutes, and introduce new courses.

There are 375 government industrial training institutes (ITIs) with around 60,000 students, located in different parts of the state. Equipped with old machinery and outdated curriculum, these institutes are not producing students as per the requirements of the industry. The state government had recently organised an international job fair which attracted over 20,000 applicants. However, industrial units which had come for head-hunting could not find more than 150 candidates who fulfilled their requirements, highlighting the poor skill level of the job-seekers.
A large number of jobs in the five job fairs organised by the government so far have also gone abegging for the same reasons, posing a challenge to Ghar Ghar Rozgar, a flagship scheme of the government. For revamping the curriculum of the existing institutes and help in setting a curriculum of the proposed skill university at Chamkaur Sahib, the state government has roped in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar.

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Concerned about the prevailing situation, Punjab technical education and industrial training, employment generation and training minister Charanjit Singh Channi stated there was a dire need to revamp the existing structure to make youth passing out of technical institutes more employable. “We are not teaching our students what the industry wants, which needs to be corrected,” said Channi. He further said the state government would be availing the services of IIT Ropar, for which it will pay Rs45 lakh.

“The institute has constituted a team of experts who will assist the government in revamping the curriculum as well as setting curriculum and courses of the upcoming skill university,” said Channi, who assured that the exercise of curriculum revision will be completed before the start of the next academic session.

Professor Ranjit Singh Ghuman, an economist, said that in fast changing times, the curriculum needs to be revised periodically, and the industry must be made a part of this process. “There is no point in wasting resources on teaching outdated curriculum to students. It has to be revised frequently,” said Prof Ghuman.

The state government had last year got a skill gap study conducted, which had pointed to old machinery and curriculum, and absence of industrial trainings in diploma-level curriculum, resulting in a gap between requirements of the industrial environment and training provided in institutions.

The government is now trying to improve the skill levels by emphasising on a periodic review of curriculum and introducing new courses with industry participation. Skill development centres have also been started to provide training to unemployed youth.

The Grey Areas
* Outdated machinery and equipment in ITIs.
* Outdated and redundant skills of trainers.
* Absence of industrial training in diploma courses.
* Involvement of industry in undertaking skill development.

A report Punjab Appraisal Report 2019-20, compiled by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) brought to the fore a lapse on the part of the state government to provide vocational education without tools and equipment. The state has 780 government schools where vocational education has been introduced to impart skills needed for employment. As many as 89,480 students are enrolled in these courses. However, in the 380 schools where the government failed to provide tools and equipment, students are taught only theory.

Channi had last month requested the central government to set up India International Skill Centre and Skill University in the state. Channi, during during the ministers’ conclave in New Delhi, said the state government was ready to give land to set up the university. The university would not only run skill training courses, but a centre of excellence would also be set up in the university campus. The minister also said the skill university should be made an assessment and certification authority for all skill training centres of the state.

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