a study of skill development policies and practices: … · their industries, where does the...

Computational studies ISSN: 1462-6063

47

A STUDY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES AND

PRACTICES: CASE STUDY FROM GERMANY,

AUSTRALIA AND INDIA

Mrs. Sipra Karmakar

Research Scholar, Centurion University of Technology and Management,

Bhubaneswar, Odisha

ABSTRACT: The term Skill can also be interpreted knowledge, competencies,

Capabilities, education and attributes. In the current era digitalisation, globalisation

and demographic change are challenging the adequacy of labour market and

particularly the demand and supply of skills. . Skills shortages currently become a

headache of many developing countries with the global average about 40% of

employers globally report difficulties filling vacancies.Our economy is dynamic in

nature and becoming knowledge day by day. In this case job specific skills of

workers are not in a position to predict with the requirements of the industry. 62%

of the total population of India known as working age group (15-59 years) and

mostly coming under 25 years of age. Youth of any country plays a major role in

achieving economic prosperity of that country. In the present it is found that

educated unemployment is a severe problem due to lack of skills and technical

knowledge. As per the FICCI report, 2015, the training system of Germany,

Australia and China is known as efficient training systems and have been proved

successful. These best practices in skill-development field, India can easily adopt.

This paper has been divided into two major parts 1. Skill analysis of two developed

countries such as Australia and Germany. 2. Suggestions for India's skill

development. It is a descriptive study where three countries are taken as cases. The

sources of data collection is based on secondary source.

Key Words: Skills, Demographic dividend, Skill shortage, Skill development,

Skill Eco-system


48

INTRODUCTION: The term “skill” can refer to general cognitive and non

cognitive abilities (e.g. information-processing skills, teamwork, and problem-

solving) as well as to knowledge and abilities that are specific to a particular job,

occupation or sector (e.g. accounting or hair colouring) (Becker, 1962). The term

Skill can also be interpreted knowledge, competencies, Capabilities, education and

attributes. In the current era digitalisation, globalisation and demographic change

are challenging the adequacy of labour in the labour market particularly the

demand and supply of skills. Government of different countries has understood

that training is needed in the labour market to survive. The common problem of

employers of different countries is that they cannot find workers with the skills that

their businesses require. On the other side workers find themselves over qualified

for face difficulties in finding jobs matching their qualification. Skills shortages

become a headache of many developing countries with the global average about

40% of employers globally report difficulties filling vacancies. In this case job

specific skills of workers are not in a position to predict with the requirements of

the industry. In this situation the most important thing is to upgrade the generic

skill which is adopted from ancestors and easily can be applied in different

settings. The effectiveness and contribution of labours in overall production is vital

and skill building instruments improves these two parts of labours. This will not

only improves the production quality, also empower the labours and increases the

social acceptance and value. The most recent development on skill building is

derived from 'Demographic Dividends' which comes from two ways, one is

declining birth rate and the other one is improvement in life expectancy62% of the

total population of India known as working age group (15-59 years) and mostly

coming under 25 years of age. Youth of any country plays a major role in

achieving economic prosperity of that country. It is also estimated that by the year

2020 the average age of the population of USA will be 40, 46 years in Europe and

47 years in Germany but in India it will be 29 only. Youth of any country plays a

major role in achieving economic prosperity of that country. In the present it is

found that educated unemployment is severe problem due to lack of skills and

technical knowledge. Many of them are not aware of the developments taking

place in the modern world.

In the year 2026, the skilled manpower shortage will be around 56 million through

out the global economy. In this situation India can exploit 'demographic dividends'

to improve economy's growth in terms of individual labour growth. According to


49

OECD report 2015, Australia and Germany are treated as top 15 most productive

countries in the world. Recently Japan and Sweden have declared that they will

provide technological training to 3 lakhs Indians and will outsource Indians for

their Industries, where does the problem lie? Australia and Germany are able to

frame policies related to skill development where India is not, where most of the

young working population are living. As per the FICCI report, 2015, the training

system of Germany, Australia and China is known as efficient training systems

and have been proved successful.. These best practices in India can easily adopt.

Country Shortage of Skilled personnel

Australia 54%

Germany 40%

India 67%

Source: unesdoc.unesco.org

Differences are there with Financial distribution and proper utilization of fiscal

expenditure, demographic distribution, geographical area and mobility of

resources.

Countries GDP/hr

worked

Number of

population worked

GDP($) Average work

per week in

terms of hours

Australia $54.6 11,860,000 $1101b 32.7

Germany $65.5 43,057,000 $3,857b 26.3

Source: OECD (2015)

From this table we can see that with less working hour Germany is getting $65.5

GDP per hour worked. Labour productivity is one of the major reasons for and

countries development. Skill development policy and framework are the most

important factors for any developing country like India otherwise India never be

considered as developed country in India. Indian Govt. has come up with lots of

Skill development policies and framed the process but how far these are sufficient


50

to bring the productivity as world class productivity. This paper has been divided

into two major parts 1. Skill analysis of two developed countries like Australia and

Germany. 2. Suggestions for India's skill development. It is a descriptive study

where three countries are taken as cases. The sources of data collection is based on

secondary source. different demographic and economical data have been depicted

in tables and illustrated through graphs.

Objectives of the study:

1. To analyse the skill development policy of India and other few developed

countries.

2. To suggest possible improvements for the skill development policy in India.

LITERATURE REVIEW: According to the Deloitte and MFI report (2010),

computer skills, problem solving skills, technical training and mathematical skills

topped the list of skills companies wanted, but which job applicants lack. The

shortage is visible mostly in skilled production like machinists, operators and

technicians. Freshers' have technical knowledge but they simply don't have a

comparable amount of industry experience.

According to Hiromichi Shibata (May, 2001), difference in the troubleshooting and

the machine maintenance skills possessed by production workers, maintenance

workers and team leaders are found to be main cause of the performance gap.

According to the report of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) (December,

2003), the major problem with Indian marine fisheries sector was related to post

harvesting. Labours are not skilled, they don't have sufficient managerial

knowledge of this sector.

Swamy (2009), as there are a number of laboratories available to check for viral

infection in shrimp seeds (this process is applicable for culture prawns/shrimps),

the procedures needed to be standardized. The results in each laboratory comes

different and farmers at a loss in the absence of authentic diagnostic results.

Singh & Kaur (2018), conducted a study on skill development at Paint and Coating

industry. The study finds that lack of formal training & inadequate provisions for


51

the training of painters are the main reasons behind the shortage of skill in this

industry.

Gupta & Agarwal (2018), conducted study in power sector in India and found that

various modes of training like short term, long term and workshop, graduate and

post-graduate programs. The industry traced out the future requirement and power

sector skill council is working for imparting skills and increasing the employability

ratio.

Shrivastav and Jatav (2017), conducted study entitled ' An Analysis of Benefits and

Challenges of Skilling India'. The study finds that the existing skill development

policy in India needs an urgent treatment. Institutional structure needs

simplification with sufficient investment in training infrastructure and should

provide incentives for private sector participation.

Prasad and Purohit (2017), conducted study on 'Skill Development, Employability

and Entrepreneurship through Make in India'. The study finds that to make ' Make

in India' project successful, youth of India should be empowered with formal

education, technical and vocational training. Despite of all investment, creation of

robust workforce for the industry is still fantasy. Besides white and blue collar,

India needs Grey collar- knowledge workers which include ICT skill, problem

solving, analytical ad effective communication skills and rust collar- skilled

workers at the grass root level in unorganised and un-benchmarked sectors like

construction, agriculture and related trade.

POLICY FRAMEWORK AND IMPLEMENTATION

Every new development needs a concrete policy framework and proper

implementation. In case of Skill development, sound policy can assist individuals

and employers in making skill development through the combination of

employment, education and training and migration policy among others. Skill

policies have also been a part of policy paradigm which emphasised state

regulations through qualification and quality assurance reform. In any country,

access to information about the skill is in high demand, as well as those likely to be

required in the short and long term, is needed to feed policies aimed at reducing


52

imbalances between the demand and supply of skills. Complex policy in complex

areas of social intervention are difficult to analyse. Everything get lost in the

minutiae of problems and disagreements. Developing countries have more

unorganised sectors and corruption and which are more prominent than developed

country. Most of the cases, policies are framed but could not implemented for

various obstacles. But in general Skill development policy framework and its

implementation is based on some parameters. A brief discussion on parameters is

as follows:

Skill development Policy framework: National Skill Development Corporation

(NSDC) was launched by Union Government of India. The main focus was to

make more purposeful institutional training, infrastructure, convergence, training

to trainers, overseas employment, sustainable livelihood and leveraging public

infrastructure. The skill development policy framework has drawn the road map of

the paradigms and enablers to realize the potential of Indian youth or the power of

Indian Demographic Dividend. The major challenges were aspirants and

mobilization of youth, quality and relevance of training, access to training,

inclusiveness and leveraging available technology. To make the entire policy

implementation successful, huge investment, availability of real time data on

different challenges faced by region, state, area, identification of sectors requiring

skilled manpower and demand-supply match. Interventions from external bodies

are also required to make policy implementation successful.

SDIs(Skill Development Indicators): OECD(organisation for Economic Co-

operation and Development has established the World Indicators of Skills for

Employment (WISE). This framework includes a focus on contextual factors in a

country such as, GDP, Population, employment in formal sectors, factors affecting

skill acquisition: educational attainment, literacy rate, enrolment ratios, vocational

programme, participation in training, factors affecting skill requirement:

employment share by level of education, occupation, incidence of self-

employment, skill use and outcomes in terms of growth in GDP, labour

productivity, employment rate, earnings etc.

The indicators can be classified into broad parameters of access, equity, quality,

relevance and finance.


53

Access: it measures the capacity and outreach of the programmes

Relevance: It measures the ease of entry to the labour market with an enhanced

employability.

Equity: It measures the equal accessibility of the opportunity to all.

Quality: It evaluates whether the training imparted meets the required standard of

employability.

Finance: It measures the cost-effectiveness of the provided fund.

PROCESS OF DEVELOPING INDICATORS:

1. The required data need to be collected from labour market. A questionnaire must

be prepared with key questions on skills in employment-unemployment surveys.

2. Once the indicators are finalised, an index can be built, ranking the states

according to their performance results.

3. Policy is to be made which must be inclusive and sustainable according to the

demographic context in each state so that the fully realization of the potential youth

and ensure optimum income and employment of the workforce.

CASE STUDY OF AUSTRALIA

Need Analysis: Australia is highly urbanised, with 85% of population lives in the

urban areas. In Australia, the end of the mining boom has been coupled with an

ongoing decline in the manufacturing industry, while the construction and services

sectors are growing. For many individuals and employers, these economic changes

imply the need to shift towards sectors and occupations in higher demand – a

potentially difficult transition. According to the Manpower Talent Shortage Survey

Report (2016/17) globally 40% of employers are facing problem in facing

difficulty in filling vacancies. In Australia 38% employers faced the same problem

but it is decreased from 61% in 2007. The toughest jobs to fill are in skilled trades

and these have topped the list for the last ten years. Engineers, Management

executives, sales representatives and IT staffs are also identified as hard-to-fill

position. Australia faced the skill shortage mainly in knowledge education and

training, health services as well as mathematics and sciences. But many workers

are over qualified for their jobs (20% of workers, compared to OECD average of

17%). Underuse of skills and human capital is a contributing factor to skill


54

imbalances in Australia (20% lower wages than those who are well matched to

their jobs). in the long term unemployed, job seekers in some regional areas, and

under-represented groups represent a potential skill supply that could be better

utilised.

Skill Development Policy: Australia has two different areas urban area and

regional areas. Their situations are very different at the time of boom and decline.

The current national policy instruments are only partly adapted to the diversity of

challenges that are arising. The national priority to solve skill shortage does

addresses many issues in local areas like trades, manufacturing, mining and

transport.

Skill Development policy framework:

In Australia Skill development policy comprises three main domain:

1. Basic Skills: Foundation skills in literacy and numeracy and the basic skills

required in information and communication technology.

2. Intellectual Abilities: Critical and creative thinking, and planning and

organisation.

3. Personal Attributes: Attitudes and abilities of self management, on-going

learning and collaboration. The nature of the economy has changed, new skills are

being recognised as important and renewed focus on the attributes of individuals is

emerging. Employers have identified the importance of interpersonal skill by

extending " Working with Others and in Teams". It helps in build up negotiation

and client dealing. According to Mayer Committee, 1992, the key competencies

include capacity to learn, adaptability and a willingness to embrace change, a

business orientation and an achievement orientation.

After 2007/08, Australia has adopted a wide range of skill assessment and

anticipation(SAA). The range includes employer surveys, survey of graduates,

quantitative forecasting models, sectoral studies, qualitative methods and labour

market information systems.


55

SHORT TERM POLICY: In Australia two major national level skill assessment

exercises (skill shortage research and the review of the skilled occupation lists for

migration) are conducted once in a year and asses current skill needs. It helps to

select temporary skilled workers and active labour market policies for job seekers.

However, by focusing on skilled occupations only (i.e. those that require at least an

Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate 4 or certificate 3 with

work experience), the skill shortage research may not be suitable for informing

active labour market policies, as the long-term unemployed who stand to benefit

the most from training may not have the necessary pre-requisites to enter

programmes at the Certificate 3 or 4 levels.

Medium and Long Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL): This policy is also known

education and training policy. it is used to select permanent workers. For them

more forward looking exercises that are updated on a regular basis. Several State

commission forecasting exercises and Australian Government commissions

external consultants conduct national forecasting on an ad hoc basis. The results

published in 2-3 years. Policy makers can develop policies to avoid skill shortage

or imbalances between demand and supply of skills.

SAA(Skill Assessment and Anticipation): In Australia, the existing SAA

assesses which qualification and occupations are in demand or in other words

which skills, per se are in demand in an environment of technological progress.

Workers can build on their existing skills by acquiring new ones that are in high

demand, rather than retraining for a new occupation. SAA information mitigates

the skill imbalances spans multiple policy domains (education, migration and

employment) in Australia. SAA information is used in three ways 1. it is to inform

potential learners about the labour market, to update and develop new

qualification, which courses to be fund, motivates towards vocational education

and training (VET) and adult training. 2. In migration policy, Australia uses the

results from SAA exercises to select migrants with skills, qualification and

experience that are in high demand. 3. In employment policy, SAA information

well informs workers those who are affected by the closing down of automotive

manufacturing plants. Apart from these three SAA offers regular training sessions


56

for teachers, career counsellors, and employment service providers to receive

updated information about the requirements of the labour market.

Skill Clustering Technique: to identify skills with a high degree of transferability

between occupations and within sectors to facilitate career transitions in the

context of structural adjustment.

Government and stakeholders Involvement: Coordinates the development and

use of SAA information across the different levels of government and policy

domain. Assigns an independent organisation to conduct SAA exercises. It

considers the applicability of practices employed in other countries. stakeholders

workshops to promote an understanding of the scope and comparability different

SAA exercises. Trade unions has formalised role in discussion of SAA results.

Skill Providers: The major skill providers are Schools, Further Education (FE)

Colleges, University Technical Colleges, National Skills Academics and private

and community training centres.

Structure for implementation: In 2016, the Australian govt. worked towards

integrating skills and higher education of the level of policy, funding and

implementing through TVET( Technical and Vocational Education Training). This

programme is funded jointly by the department of Education and department for

Business Energy and Industrial Strategy(BEIS).

Monitoring and Evaluation: The regulatory powers to examine and assess skill is

also given to a single non-ministerial department.

Case Study of Germany

Need Analysis: In Germany, productivity of labour decreases day by day.

Companies are getting more sluggish and which does not support the case for a

shortage of skilled labour, said Brenke. Wages paid for high-skill workers have

risen, while they have fallen for middle and low skilled workers who are middle-

aged , suggesting that these trends are driven by labour demand. In part they may

be driven by stronger use of digital technology (Dauth et al., 2017[153] and


57

Chapter 1 of the 2018 Economic Survey of Germany). However, women are

under-represented in most of the STEM fields, both at the upper secondary and at

the tertiary level, where they are only 28% of new entrants. Workers in Germany

carry out tasks independently and plan their own work on the job more frequently

than in other OECD countries. However, they are less likely to perform managing,

communicating and marketing tasks.

Steps towards Skill Development:

Vocational Training: vocational Training is become very famous in Germany.

Half of the adult population in Germany has a vocational upper secondary or post-

secondary non-tertiary qualification when they leave full-time education. In

Germany 86% of adults have higher secondary qualification. German and German

Industry enjoy the vocational education and training and a high reputation for the

demand driven and practical orientation of its qualification programmes. The

German vocational education and training system ensures excellent integration of

young people in the labour market. The share of young people not in employment,

education or training is among the lowest in the OECD. For the optimum result,

Integration between vocational schools, industry and Government is maintained.

Dual Learning System: In the dual learning system, young people are trained

according to nationwide standardized curricula. A contract is signed between the

trainees and the company. Trainees get the training for three and half years

depending on their profession they choose. They know that what is exactly

expected from them by the company. They get 70% training in the company and

30 % from the vocational school. this vocational training become an integral part

in Germany's long-term economic strategy.

Information System : Germany specialises in many technologically advanced

industries including large and medium sized tech manufacturing and complex

business services, especially R&D , computer and related activities. These all are

supported by country's strong advantage in high-end Science, Technology,

Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).According to PIAAC data (OECD,

2017),around 35% of all tertiary educated adults have a degree in a STEM field

and hold the highest position in OECD. German manufacturing is strongly

integrated in global value chain.


58

Salient Features of Germany's Skill Development Eco-System

Mobility: Work-based and school based learning which impart more practical

skills. Students feel more flexible to choose courses and career options.

Flexibility: VET in Germany includes practical training and ensures that the

curriculum and training matches with the changing technology and industries.

Industry linkage: Companies engaged in VET are involved in making upgraded

curricula. They identify the future requirement of skills and training to meet the

demand. In this regard, FIVTE(Federal Institute for Vocational Training and

Education, Experts from companies, industrial chambers and trade unions develop

training regulations for the apprenticeship program.

Funding/Financing Mechanism: VET is financed by both public and private.

Enterprises bear the cost of in-company training and pay the trainee remuneration

as regulated by collective bargaining. For dual VET the provincial or state govt.

pay the salaries of teachers and bear the cost of equipments and infrastructure.

Incentives or benefits for stakeholders: Government only takes the guarantee

theoretical training in vocational schools with well trained teachers. Hence saves

cost on equipments and machinery. Companies take the responsibility to train

students in real working processes and with well-equipped state of the art

machinery. Employees become more productive and become more skilled workers.

They directly recruit students after training so saves cost for recruitment.

Standards/Quality: The training in VET maintains the national standard and

quality which fulfils the requirement of relevant occupation. Training personnel are

also appropriately qualified. Companies appoint certified trainer in case of dual

system.

Social Integration: Students who cannot go for higher studies can get into VET

through normal route. It helps the young people to achieve apprenticeship

readiness. with this course they can obtain intermediate secondary school leaving

certificate. After obtaining required education, they can enter into vocational

training through Dual Apprenticeship Training.


59

Salient Features of Australia's Skill Development Eco-System

Mobility: Australia has adopted different courses which accredited by Australian

Qualification Framework (AQF).

Flexibility: It has been clear from the above table that learners of Australia can

choose any of the courses without formal qualification. Australia’s VET system is

suitable to nearly all types of people- those who enter into the work force for the

first time, re-enter into the workforce after a gap or those who want to upgrade

skills.

Industry Linkage: Industry connectivity plays a major role in improving required

skills of workers. Australia's VET system, influences the industrial bodies which

are strong in making VET policies. In this case the National Skill Council, an

organisation which provides training and collects information about industry

training needs.

Funding / Financing mechanism: The VET system is funded by federal,

regional, employers and individuals. Companies which provide on-job-training are

also eligible for Australian Government funding.

Standard / Quality:. The training in VET maintains the national standard and

quality which fulfils the requirement of relevant occupation. Training personnel are

also appropriately qualified. Companies appoint certified trainer in case of dual

system.

Courses Duration Prospects after completion

Certificate course I and II 1-2 years ----------

Certificate course III and IV 2-4 years Students can obtain Graduate diploma after 6

months education and training which is accredited

towards higher education degrees.

VET Diploma

2 years

VET Advanced Diploma

2-3 years

Students can obtain Graduate diploma after 12

months education and training which is accredited

towards higher education degrees.


60

Social integration: The system provides opportunities for catching up on missed

training and providing lifelong learning for an ageing workforce. Previously failed

in primary and secondary education students get second chance in VET system. It

also includes disable people, people from weak socio-economic background.

CASE STUDY OF INDIA

Need Analysis: A huge proportion of informally trained workers who are basically

from informal sector where skill training is obtained through individual learning,

experience and observation. informal firms have lesser number of employees with

poor division of labour. Skill specialization and on the job learning are missing and

for which productivity is less. The proportion of formally trained workers in India

is only 4.69% of the total work force compare to Germany (75%) and Australia

(69%). The latest India Skill Report indicates that only about 45.6% of the youth

passing out from different educational institution are employable. Job creation in

the organised sector is declining. Female participation is low and retrenchment is

very high. Unorganised sectors do not follow proper labour law and social

insurance programmes. The key challenge is to create more and better jobs for the

1 million people entering the labour force every month and demographic will

favour labour force growth up to 2040. In the current situation India is suffering

from slow growth, elusive investment, demonetization and GST along with

Automation, global headwinds and structural shifts (in telecom and agriculture).

According to UNESCO, at 287 million, India currently has world's largest illiterate

adult population. According to NSSO data, 65% of jobs were in firms with less

than 10 employees were in unorganised sector, where most of the labour laws were

applied. A severe problem of India is shortage of well trained skilled workers. It is

estimated that only 2.3 % of the workforce in India has undergone formal skill

training as compared to 68% in the UK, 75% in Germany, 52% in USA, 80% in

Japan and 96% in South Korea. India has not much shortage of educated

employees, only being less skilled or no skills making them unemployed. India is

currently facing two challenges in terms of VET system functions- 8 years

education is mandatory to get vocational training therefore Government has to

confirm education first and on the other hand government has to accelerate


61

economic growth there is an urgent need for human capital development.

Therefore, India must focus on scaling up skill training efforts to meet the demands

of employers and drive economic growth. Fundamentally there are two factors

responsible for labour distortion- 1. job market is not incentivised to generate

skilled labour force. 2. Education System is not in sync with the job market

requirement.

Policy Framework in India:

1. Apprenticeships Act, 1961: The primary objective is to make ensure to include

trainees in the training. Trainees must get optimum access to real work

environment and on-the-job training. Industries are largely involved to make

employees updated with the required skills. About 254 groups of industries are

covered under the act and about 27000 establishment engage apprentices.

2. The National Skill policy- It was established in 2009 to create the skill

ecosystem in India. The objective is to empower the work force with the required

skills, knowledge and qualification. The objective is to make the Indian workforce

capable to work in global forum.

3. National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(NSDE): It aims to

provide an umbrella framework to all skill related activities carried out within the

country. It identifies the various institutional framework to reach the expected

outcomes how skill development efforts across the country can be aligned within

the existing institutional arrangement.

4. The National Skills Qualification Framework(NSQF): This framework tells

about the different certification courses at any level and which can be acquired

through different formal and informal training. These training programs are

anchored by National Skills Qualification Committee (NSQC), comprises all

stakeholders.


62

Skill Development Eco-System in India

Key Bodies Enablers Implementing Bodies Beneficiaries

Ministry of Skill

Development

and

Entrepreneurship

MHRD

Ministry of

Rural

Development(M

oRD)

4. Other Central

Ministries

State Skill

Development

Mission

NSDC

NSDA

SSCs

NCVT

Labour Laws

Minimum Wage

Act

Financial

Institution

Apprenticeships

Act

ITIs

Training

Providers

Captive

Training by

Employers

School

Universities

Assessment

Companies

Marginalised

Societies

Unemployed

Youth

Low Income

Group

School and

College

Students

Source: FICCI-KPMG report 'Skilling India'

Salient Features of India's Skill Development Eco-System

Flexibility: . lack of uniformity of courses in centre and state level. Entry and exit

from general and training courses are inflexible.

Industry Linkage: The major drawback of Indian education, skill development

and vocational education is lack of linkages in Institute and industry.

Funding / Financial Mechanism: Financing vocational and technical education

schemes is real constraint in India. According to World Bank(2006) ' public

funding for training in India is 'ad-hoc' and not based on any funding formula'

Standard/ Quality: The quality of training does not fit well with the job market

demand. The reasons are 1. the curriculum is not revised regularly which must be


63

done every three years. 2. Inflexibility 3. Lack of effective training capacity in

terms of maintaining a minimum standard of accreditation.

Social Integration: The participation of women is very less. Though the

government taken many initiatives but a part of the workforce is not aware of the

different govt. schemes and activities.

Comparative Analysis of Skill Development policy of Australia, Germany and

India

Attribute Australia Germany India

Policy exists or not Yes Yes Yes

Clarity of Objectives Yes Yes Yes

Structure for

implementation

Strong Strong Poor

System yes yes yes

Resource Strong Strong Poor

Monitoring and

Evaluation

Strong Strong NCQF started in the

year 2019.

Suggestions for possible improvements for the skill development policy in

India

India has taken many steps towards the skill development but still now it is

far away from the VET(Vocational Educational Training) which is practiced

in Germany and Australia.

In India the curricula are developed by Government. They should design a

course structure in order to substantiate the practical exposure. Curriculum

coordination is very much essential in India.


64

Companies are the final beneficiaries of skilled workers. In India Joined

funding on education training would assure the quality of training.

In India, VET is not given importance as academic education is more

important. The mindset of the people is that those who cannot go for higher

studies, are opt for VET. To improve the employment level, VET has to be

given equal priority as academic education is given.

Germany has the dual system. Trainees enter into the company with a

contract that 70 % of their training takes place in a company and 30 % in

school. But in India, this system is hardly available due to less number of

companies where trainees can undergo an apprenticeship. Companies are

also do not participate voluntarily in providing skill training. Government

and other non profit organisation like CII should take the initiative for such

training in India.

India requires appropriately equipped education centres, modern curricula, a

cross country training provision and examination standard that must based

on occupational concept. In this regard teachers should adopt occupation

related pedagogic qualification.

Skill Mismatch is very high in India. India's market is very dynamic in

nature. Consumers taste and preferences are changing very fast. Indian needs

to be prepared to provide suitable training of the workers to meet the current

trend of demand.

Many children dropout from the school and as VET is not taught in

secondary school, students don't get interest in this kind of training.

India should adopt different tests as Australia has adopted SAA(Skill

Assessment and Anticipation) which gives proper information to

stakeholders. NSDC is also providing information but with large time lag

which does not solve the purpose. Though the adoption of Labour Market

Information System(LMIS) is under the mission of Skill development

programme.

30.67 lakh candidates trained under the programme of PMKVY but only 2.9

lakh got jobs. There are many reasons behind it. Multiple authorities, an ill-

equipped NSDC, a poor job-creation climate, sub-par training institutes, data

fudging and misaligned incentives are just few. India should check all these


65

failures. India can tie up with foreign countries those who are good in these

all.

Expenditure on training is very less in India. Government alone cannot take

entire responsibility to improve skill shortage. Private-public partnership

which needs to be planned and strengthen.

Skill development should also be there in unorganised sector and provide

pathways for re-skilling and up-skilling workers in these identified sectors

so that they can be accommodated in formal sector.

The OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult

Competencies allows analysing skills in the adult population and their

impact across countries

Establish and enforce cross-sectoral, nationally and internationally

acceptable standard for skill training in the country by creating a sound

quality assurance framework for skilling, applicable to all ministers, states

and private training providers.\

CONCLUSION: India should learn from the better performing countries like

Germany and Australia in skill development. It is high time India learns from

Germany and Australia as they have highest degree of autonomy. Economic

conditions in India might be different but challenges are more or less similar.

Government of India must be proactive in providing right training to the right

person at the right time. Along with this the macroeconomic factors are to be

developed GDP, Per Capita Income, Equalities of Income. Production will increase

with the increase in these three factors and automatically the vacancies will be

created and required skill will be taught. India must be selective based on what it

aims to achieve and how it wants to do so.


66

REFERENCES:

[1] Gary S Becker, Investment in Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis; Journal

of Political Economy, October, 1962. Vol.70, No.5. Page No. 09-49. Available

from http//www.jstor.org/stable/1829103.

[2] Deloitte and MFI report (2010)

[3] Hiromichi Shibata (2001) ' Productivity and Skill at a Japanese Transplant and

its Parent Company'. Volume: 28 issue: 2, page(s): 234-260, Issue published: May

1, 2001

[4] Abhishek,V and Aditya, S (2015) “Skill Development Programmes: A Project

Management Perspective” , International Journal of Humanities and Management

Sciences (IJHMS) Volume 3, Issue 5, ISSN 2320–4044 (Online).

[5] Ansari, T. H. and Khan, M. A,(2018), Available online

at:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329782820

[6] FICCI, (2015).The Skill Development Landscape in India and Implementing

Quality Skills Training, New Delhi: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce

and Industry.

[7] Gupta D and Agarwal S (2018), “Training Prospects in Power Sector in India”

International Journal of Research in Engineering, IT and Social Sciences, ISSN

2250-0588, Impact Factor: 6.452, Volume 08, Special Issue, May 2018, Page 305-

314.

[8] Shrivastav, R. K. and Jatav, A. (2017),“An Analysis of Benefits and Challenges

of Skilling India”. 9th International conference on science, technology and

management, Indian Federation of United Nations Association, New Delhi (India)

ICSTM-17, 14th October 2017,ISBN: 9789386171719, www.conferenceworld.in.

[9] Singh, S. & Kaur, K. (2018), “A Study on Skill Development of Paint and

Coating Industry”. Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra – Haryana, [VOLUME 5 I


67

ISSUE 2 I APRIL – JUNE 2018] e ISSN 2348 –1269, Print ISSN 2349-5138

http://ijrar.com/ Cosmos Impact Factor 4.236

[10] Hager P, McIntyre J, Moy J, Comyn P, Stone J, Schwenke C & Gonczi A

(1996) Workplace Keys: Piloting the Key Competencies in Workplace Training.”

RCVET Working Papers 13, UTS, Sydney.

[11] Jeemul Unni, 2016. " Skill Gaps and Employability: Higher Education in

Imndia," Joural of Development Policy and Practice,

Vol. 1(1), pages 18-34, January

[12] Kenneth I. Spenner, 1990. "Skill: Meanings, Methods, and Measures".

Published in Work and Occupations 17(4): 399-421

a study of skill development policies and practices: … · their industries, where does the...

Documents