Skilling and employment post COVID-19: National Perspective

The outbreak of COVID-19 has not only made millions sick but has also affected the lives of more than three-quarters of the world population that is being forced to live under major restrictions. It has brought economic activities across the world to a standstill and skills are no exception to its impact. The pandemic and global lockdown pose an unprecedented challenge for the skills development systems. Stalled economic activities have an immediate impact on the global market that varies dramatically across sectors and regions.

FICCI organises a webinar on Skilling and employment post-COVID-19: National Perspective on Friday, July 10, 2020, at 04:00 pm

Register for the webinar here: https://bit.ly/2ZOuf1O

Click here to know more details of the program: https://nationalskillsnetwork.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Program-Webinar-National-Perspective_Skilling-Job.pdf

The rapidly intensifying economic effects of COVID-19 on the world of work have proven to be far worse than the 2008-09 financial crisis, with cutbacks equivalent to nearly 200 million full- time workers expected in the next three months alone. Till a few months back, we were in midst of discussing the impact of Emerging Technologies on skills and jobs and it became increasingly evident that the young generation that is entering the workforce would need to constantly upskill themselves. But in the last few months’ time, the concept of education has transformed from school certificates and university degrees to life-long learning, especially through online courses. Now, more than ever, existing, and new workforce would have to be more agile, adaptable and would need to constantly upskill their knowledge and skills.

This pandemic has resulted in multiple sectors being affected in different ways. Education and Skill Development- two common threads that are important from the supply of skilled human resource aspects, have also been badly hit. FICCI India has been working closely with various stakeholders to deliberate on what could be the possible scenarios post COVID-19 and how can we prepare ourselves to mitigate its impact.

FICCI through its Skill Development Committee has been supporting the Government of India in the successful implementation of Skill India Mission since its inception. It also advocates the need for Industry-led skilling by more and more involvement of private sectors. We also offer support and facilitation services in Policy Advocacy, Industry Interventions, and International Collaborations in skilling and vocational education.

In the given context, we are pleased to introduce ‘FICCI Thought Leadership Dialogue Series’ which is a series of the webinar to deliberate on Post Covid-19 scenario of Skill Development and Vocational Education globally and its impact on India as well. This would be an apt platform to discuss the way forward on ‘Skilling to Employment’ covering a future outline for skill development, promoting tech-led skilling for better industry outputs, and new-age entrepreneurship.

Objectives of the FICCI Thought Leadership Dialogue Series:

• Scenario building on how current pandemic will impact skill development ecosystem across the globe and India as well
• Experience sharing from Policymakers, Skill Development Organizations, Industry, and Academia
• Innovative approaches to ensuring equity in Skill Development recovery process during and post the COVID-19 crisis
• Governance and policies to create an environment for accelerated recovery
• Enabling Skilling and Training ecosystem to meet the changing needs of Start-Ups
• Innovation and Digital Transformation in the Skilling sector