Skill Development News Digest

In this edition of our biweekly news update let’s recap new initiatives, courses and other interesting developments in the area of skill development and vocational training in India. The highlight of this fortnight has been the latest findings of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) for 2011-12.

It reported that just about 2 in 10 adults received any vocational training, and 2.2% received formal vocational training and 8.6 per cent non-formal vocational training
Still, only 2.2% people in the age group of 15-59 years reported to have received formal vocational training and only 8.6% said they had received non-formal vocational training
Among people aged 15 and above, only 2.4 per cent had technical degrees, diplomas or certificates in fields like medicine, engineering or agriculture. The proportion was 1.1 per cent in rural areas and 5.5 per cent in urban areas

New courses: Skill based courses from Open Universities
Open Universities are fast realizing the need to introduce skill development in their courses as can be seen from these two initiatives.

Odisha State Open University (OSOU) has decided to introduce need based education in general and skill based vocational education in sectors like agriculture, automobile, construction, and so on.
The Tamil Nadu Open University, in collaboration with NSDC, has added 19 skill-based diploma and certificate courses from the current academic year. These include courses in the health sector, computer application, fashion design, catering, and so on.
With UGC’s announcement of Masters in Vocational Education (M.Voc) course, students can now opt for a Masters degree after completing their B.Voc.
Federal Bank to start skill academy in Kochi to impart highly demanding courses like plumbing system design & technology courses to meritorious students.
Simulation based training: Simulation-based training gets a new boost as Skillveri receives new investments from Ankur capital for expanding its offerings in manufacturing and construction sectors.

New initiatives in skill development and vocational training

AP to form Sector Skill Council led by 42 sectors identified by the National Skills. The Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC), in collaboration with Siemens, has established 36 Centres of Excellence in 6 clusters. The APSSDC will train 15,000 students Under Electronic System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) and this will begin as a pilot with 1,000 students in all districts.
The Chhattisgarh government will train 1.32 whopping 1.32 lakh teachers under the ‘Shiksha Gunvatta Abhiyan’. The state has about 2,593 registered vocational training providers while there were 84 ITIs, 18 polytechnic colleges and three government engineering colleges. People aged 18-45 can undergo skill development programme at designated 2,593 institutes, where in more than one lakh people were imparted training in 2014 and 47,000 were trained this year.
ITI boom: 8 institutes being set up every day since 5 months:According to government figures, on an average about eight new ITIs—lead institutes for acquiring and developing vocational skills—are being set up across India every day for the last five months. From April 1 to August 30, 1,133 ITIs have been set up and the corresponding additional increase in seating capacity has been by 1,71,392.

News from different sector skills

Gems and Jewellery: GJSCI launches digital platform to skill ornament workers to skill those engaged in the industry by the end of 2016. This is the first e-learning platform for the jewellery industry. It will reach out to individuals in small towns and remote areas of the country, including 1 lakh jewellery retail sales associates. According to a NSDC report, India’s gems and jewellery sector requires 35.9 lakh skilled workforce by 2022.
Power: Tata Power inaugurates Tata Power Skill Development Institute in Trombay. This will benefit over 600 power sector workers through various power-skills training programs.
Automotive: As per an MOU, the APSSDC and the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) signed a MoU for enhancement of skills in the automotive sector in Andhra Pradesh. The ASDC will impart training in basic skills, besides re-skilling those aspiring to make a career in the automobile sector. Currently, ASDC has trained about 75000 people in this year.
Apparel: Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC) has signed an MOU with the APSSDC to meet the rising requirement skilled youth in the rapidly growing textile/fashion related sectors. According to the MoU, the ATDC offers specific vocational training programs in line with the skills needed for the job and demands of the industry.
Farming and Horticulture: In Nagaland, Assam Rifles in collaboration with Tata Trusts and experts from Krishi Vigyan Kendra have trained 130 local youth and farmers in cash crop and horticulture.

Corporate collaboration and IT enablement

Accenture helps Rajasthan Skill and Livelihoods Development Corporation (RSLDC) develop and implement an IT system for real-time monitoring of the organization’s work to build skills and reduce unemployment in Rajasthan.
MSME-Samsung Technical school will impart skill training to the youth by setting up Vocational Incubation Centers across the country.
US will collaborate with India on a number of education and training projects to help achieve its goal of providing such training to 400 million people in the next decade.
The Kerala State IT Department would be launching
Electronics@School project in schools to create a pool of skilled future IT professionals as well as technology entrepreneurs
Uber has signed a pact with Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) to train and certify over 1,00,000 individuals as commercially licenced drivers on its platform over the next three years, which will also offer them opportunities to be ‘driver-entrepreneurs’.
Banking, financial services need 1.6 million skilled workers by 2022′:BFSI sector in India will need an additional 1.6 million skilled workforce by 2022, the NSDC has estimated. The employment opportunities would be generated through expansion of branches and business correspondence. At present, the public sector banks (PSBs) lead the employment scenario with 73% of the hirings.
Shortage of 2 lakh paramedics in country: There is an estimated shortage of 2 lakh paramedical staff in the country and to speed up skill development, a national regulatory body is being deliberated upon, on the pattern of paramedical council of Himachal Pradesh.