With two-thirds of our population below the age of 35 and with India’s emergence as a digital technology powerhouse, our potential to be the skill capital of the world needs no amplification. To support this, the education ecosystem is undergoing transformation driven by innovation and emerging technologies and impacted by countless formal and informal learning opportunities.
The growing importance of cognitive skill development
In a knowledge-based and digital-driven economy, cognitive skills are crucial for the workforce across sectors. Therefore, there is a great demand for people with skills such as analytical thinking, creative thinking, design thinking systems thinking and multilingualism. These skills will continue to be in high demand in the future, especially in the context of the exponential advancements in science and technology.
The fast-expanding skill development ecosystem
Ever since the establishment of the National Skill Development Corporation 15 years ago, the skilling ecosystem received a major fillip. Today, we have an enabling regulatory mechanism and qualifications framework to establish skill development institutions. The public and private sectors have built on top of this, which along with the NEP will be a major trend in the forthcoming year.
Impact of technology
Digital technologies are bringing about paradigm shifts. The emergence of e-learning platforms, virtual labs and simulation tools provide a scalable and cost-effective model for imparting practical skills. Apart from equipping the youth to be proficient with various digital platforms, this increased access to training is contributing to the democratisation of learning.
Gap between course content and industry requirement
The talent requirement of various sectors is fast changing, our educational institutions are unable to keep pace and make the course content up-to-date. This disconnect is adversely affecting the placement prospects of those who complete the courses. At the same time, paradoxically, some of the high-growth sectors are facing talent deficit.
Lack of infrastructure and faculty resources
Creating quality physical and IT infrastructure for skill development is cost-intensive and we need this on an enormous scale, to cater to tier 3 and tier 4 cities. The non-availability of qualified faculty with hands-on experience or competent resource-persons to train them is one of the perennial problems. Attracting such talents will be a challenge as the compensation is not competetive and the sector doesn’t get the dignity it deserves.
Low awareness on available opportunities
Though the skill development landscape has made much headway in the recent years and multitudes of new career opportunities are emerging, awareness about these among students, parents and teachers is low. Apart from the lack of career and college admissions guidance, many still do not perceive the skilling route as an aspirational one vis-à-vis pursuing higher education in a regular college setting.
Skilling needs to be on mission mode
Every developed nation is a case study on how a robust skilling ecosystem right from the schooling stage can make economic miracles. Skilling is a critical ingredient for our nation to emerge as a start-up powerhouse. For the skilling space to receive more traction and contribute to nation-building, we need to view it through a larger lens, and get an integrated perspective. An individual is truly skilled only when they have a blend of technical know-low, cognitive skills and socio-economic attributes. Skilling women on a massive scale and making them part of the workforce is critical for inclusive development. We need thousands of champions who embrace skill development as a movement. There is a sense of urgency and we need to work on a mission mode.
