Skill Development Empowering Indian Women

Let’s start with some facts. 50% of Indian women professionals leave the corporate sector between junior and mid-levels. In 2018, women occupied a lowly 20% of all senior roles across India. Also, women occupy only 30% of data science and 26% of AI roles in India.*

But the most shocking stat of them all? Three in four Indian women don’t work. That’s right, only 26% of women make up the labour workforce.**

It is a sad state of affairs, and things get more gloomy when one realizes the reasons behind them. As per a study, there are three main factors that hinder the growth of women professionals. There’s perhaps the biggest factor of them all, which is gender-based stereotypes. Then there’s the exclusion of women from informal networks. Finally, there’s a lack of role models.

Now, let’s consider two very important aspects here. For starters, there’s no shortage of women personnel available for work. Next, the country could definitely do with skilled workers across many fields.

This begs the question. Can skill development be the solution for Indian women’s professional woes?

Well, the women of India definitely think so! As per a National Sample Survey finding, more than 50% of ‘out-of-labour force’ women said they lacked the skills to take up desired roles. The same study also declared that women with skills or vocational training are more likely to be working. Another finding suggested that government-funded skill development programs have great potential. This is because these programs have gender quotas, and generally incentivize placements. There are also incentives for retaining the first job after training. All these could go a long way towards promoting skill development and career opportunities.

Consider the initiatives from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, for example. They have been implementing several initiatives for women’s skill development. The MSDE has launched 18 National Skill Training Institutes only for women. There are also batches to provide training to women under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.

Also, there is good news when it comes to Short Term Skill Development Training. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana has greatly promoted skill development among women. Almost 50% of the candidates trained under PMKVY are women.

There are promising developments on the ‘jobs-of-the-future’ front too. Based on the National Skills Qualifications Framework criteria, close to 450 job roles will be the focus for the skill training of women. In addition, under ‘Skill India’, women will receive encouragement to train for roles such as AI, Data Analytics, etc. The initiative has also seen the government team up with global industry leaders like SAP, Adobe, IBM to create skill development programs for roles of the future.

Plus, there is always the availability of online certifications and Massive Open Online Courses‎ (MOOCs). If you were to combine these with the many Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) and Short Term Training (STT) initiatives from the government, there are certainly many options for skill training for women. But then again, there are many questions that can arise here. Will the training courses be of great quality? If so, how can one find out about more details about them? Also, will the certifications provided by training institutes be legitimate?

This is where Certif-ID aims to step in and help the empowerment of women through skills. How does it plan to achieve this aim? It’s thanks to the transparent and secure attributes of Blockchain Technology. When a student goes through the courses on Certif-ID’s platform which is blockchain-based, they can be sure that the courses are verified by eminent reviewers. To give you an example, TÜV Rheinland is one of the established third-party reviewers on our platform. Accordingly, every aspect of the course and institute will be covered, from the quality, skills covered, etc.

Certif-ID also ensures that the certification process is transparent. An institution or employer can issue a digital certificate or credential after a graduate has completed via the platform. The certificate is encrypted and stored in a secure digital space. It can be shared on social media or sent to recruiters by email who can verify with a few clicks, thereby upholding its authenticity and credibility.

All in all, skill development can go a long way towards empowering the women professionals of India. Of course, they must be aligned with various socio-cultural initiatives to breakdown the barriers of gender stereotyping. We at Certif-ID certainly believe that technology can ally these initiatives for the win, and help create a country where women professionals thrive.

Interested in finding out more about how Certif-ID is gender-neutral and drives skilled professionals to achieve great results?

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