Possible Tendencies in Vocational Training in India

Having understood labour in the above perspective grounded in positive approach towards work, one must not forget that we live in the world of mismatches. What do I mean by it? Now though labour unions have become stronger demanding for their rights but does the education one had received and the job one does goes hand in hand? Is there a golden thread that knits one's education with his employment? In other words, do everyone work in the field that corresponds to their education and specialization? Obviously no is the bitter truth. For example: All along his/her life, one studies science and later he/she obtains graduation in chemical engineering but he gets placed in a software company as a data-analyst for a good pay. So my question is what is the result or output after years of learning and working with chemicals? Is all his/her knowledge on chemicals a complete waste? Take for an example, an history student with years of archeological experience settling with a Multinational company as a HR for a good pay. What is the result of his learning for the past twenty years? Or an engineering guy trying his best to clear the bank exam and wants to get placed in one of the public sector banks. What has happened to years of his/her engineering / technical skills which he/she has cultivated since his/her childhood? Has it gone to the dogs? This happens even in religious circles- spending years of formation with the objective of developing oneself in the faculty of philosophy and theology and at last gets settled for the office of administrator. Yes the link between the education and job placement is weakening at a grand scale and I think this is a serious issue to be pondered over and it is the need of the hour. So in this article, I will deal a lot with the trends in vocational education/ training in the current scenario and let us see how to lessen the mismatch in this dimension thus making technical education and job placement go hand in glove leading towards specialization and invention.

According to the economic times dated 0ct.18,2018, India, which is the world’s fastest-expanding economy, the link between growth and job creation is weakening. The main reason for the worsening correlation between growth and jobs was a mismatch between skills and “good jobs,” according to researchers led by Amit Basole. The share of the so-called goods jobs that broadly includes formal employment with regular pay accounted for only 17 percent of the country’s 467 million work force. It also aims at creation of decent and desirable jobs. Growth of Indian economy has been at an average around 7 percent since reforms began in 1991. The most recent figures show gross domestic product expanded 8.2 percent in the three months through June from a year earlier, making India the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Still, unemployment remains high, especially among young and educated Indians. More than one-third of about 23 million people who were actively searching for jobs have graduate or higher levels of education. Failure to create opportunities for the young workforce will not only hurt Prime Minister Modi’s re-election this year, but impede the economy’s current pace of expansion. “India’s employment situation and the state of its labour statistics are both subjects of national news. The performance of the present government on job creation is also expected to be a key issue in the general elections this year”. Let us discuss in detail especially the mismatches in the technical and vocational dimension below.

Industrial Relations

The success of technical education revolves around an effective collaborative arrangement between the Institute and Industry. When we use the term ‘Industry’ it must be understood as the study of the vocational education programme in a broader sense. The industry can be a factory, a service centre, a government department, hospital or farm or any agency which has the capability of providing the student with the desired vocational expertise in a particular occupation.

School – Industry collaboration

A strong School — Industry linkage is an inevitable requirement to bring about skilled and competent manpower. The linkage between school and industry should not be partial rather it must try to create a style of joint venture between both parties where both work with a common goal of developing human resources to its optimum level. It should not merely be confined with lectures to the vocational students by the experts from the industry, but it should include rightful co-operation from the planning stage to the placement stage.

Industry – Institute Interaction

A strong and healthy relationship between the institution and the industry has several benefits to the institution, students and the industry as well. The institution can initiate courses after identifying diverse man power needs of the industry so that the students find employment on completion of the course. The institution can also extend itself by evaluating the curriculum for the courses and revise it on a regular basis based on the changing needs of the industry. This would help the students to have a better exposure. India has one of the largest technical manpower in the world. But compared to its population, it is not significant and there is a tremendous scope of improvement in this area. Bridging the skill gap is the need of the day and decides the national development and economic growth.

Rampant Skill Gap

Skills and the knowledge are the two pillars which paves way for the economic growth and social development of any country. In this line, India is blessed with population of about 70% who are below the age of 35 years. Youth are the most vibrant and dynamic segment as well as potentially most feasible human resource. At the same time, India is seriously handicapped with a very weak and narrow knowledge base with 12.3% gross enrollment ratio as compared to 21% in China and 54.6% in developed countries. Hence there is a need to convert the available huge human resource potential into a reality by enhancing opportunities in the fields such as science, technology, engineering, architecture, management etc…

Many surveys in India and abroad estimated that only 10% of MBA graduates are employable and the same is true for engineering which is below 17% and become uncontrollable if not taken care immediately. It is also estimated that the required skill gap across industrial sector is about 75-80% by 2020. Growing middle-skills, industries such as manufacturing, construction and health care are facing the most noteworthy skill shortages.

Constraints in Industry – Institution Interaction

1. Lack of interest from both sides
2. Curriculum is not planned as per job profile
3. Education imparted is not job oriented.
4. Insufficient time schedule available.
5. Obsolete lab facilities.

German Dual System

Having understood the enormous skill gap and the narrow constraints in the Industrial Initiatives, the best possible method to be suggested would be introducing the German dual system in the present Indian scenario. Germany’s dual system of training provision has become a key inspiration for vocational training reforms around the world. Countries such as France and Britain see the German system of vocational education and training as “a model to imitate”. The main characteristic of the dual system is cooperation between mainly small and medium-sized companies, on the one hand, and publicly funded vocational schools, on the other. This cooperation is regulated by law. Trainees in the dual system typically spend part of each week at a vocational school and the other part at a company. Dual training usually lasts two to three-and-a-half years.

Characteristics

• Dualism of Learning avenues – two places for study
• Two statuses of students – as student and apprentice
• Two types of teachers – (practice teachers at companies and theory teachers in institutes)
• Public responsibility of vocational training
• Joint Funding

Conclusion

Having seen the characteristics of the German dual system, it too has got numerous advantages. One of the major advantages of this system is that it is beneficial for both the apprentice as well as the company, is that apprentices may be employed as fully qualified skilled workers after the completion of apprenticeship training. The apprenticeship or dual TVET system is highly recognized worldwide due to its combination of theory and practice which is very well applicable in real-life work environment. In India, the practical dimension of vocational education and training is mostly missing. Hence the duality principle should be made mandatory in India. Germany can serve as a role model in this respect. Practical training must be built into the Vocational Education and Training system for which the state and industry associations should play a key role aiming at lessening the skill gap and reducing the education – employment mismatches.