VOCATIONAL TRAINING SOLUTION TO INDIA’S UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM

By: Dr. Lalit S. Kanodia

Ph.D. (MIT, USA)

18-Feb-2014

INDIA’S EDUCATION HISTORY

1. Rama – Guru Vishvamitra

2. Taxshila

3. Nalanda

2

TAKSHILA (600 BC TO 500 AD)1. World’s first University.

2. Had 68 subjects.

3. Had 10,500 students, including overseas. Entered at age 16.

4. Chanakya / Kautilya was a Professor here.

a. PM to Chandragupta Maurya. 322 BC.

b. Wrote Arthashastra.

c. Performed first caesarean operation on Chandragupta’s wife.

3

NALANDA (427 BC TO 1197 AD)

1. Had 8 colleges.

2. Had 300 lecture halls.

3. Residential University.

4. Admitted 3 out of 10 students.

5. Had 10,000 students from worldwide.

6. Had 2,000 Professors.

7. Had 90 lac manuscripts in the library.

4

ILLITERACY

India 25% to 33%Sri Lanka 9%Myanmar 7%

Though India has created IITs and IIMs, our Education Policy has been our one of our biggest failures.

INDIA HAS THE LARGEST NUMBER OF ILLITERATES IN THE WORLD

5

INDIA

120 crores People50 crores Workforce24 crores Students

6

EMPLOYMENT – TODAY 50 CRORES

23.5 crores Agriculture 47% 16% of GDP26.5 crores Other 53% 84% of GDP50 crores Total

7

STUDENTS – 23 CRORES

Schools 22.80 crores In 13 lac schoolsColleges 1.5 crores In 25,000 collegesVocations 11 lacs In 7,500 ITI etc.Total 23 crores

India produces ≈ 25 lac graduates / year.

8

PERCENTAGE EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE

USA 2% Turkey 24%Sweden 2% Yemen 25%Spain 4% Philippines 32%Switzerland 4% Sri Lanka 39%Mauritius 8% India 47%Malaysia 13%

Hence, ≈ 10 crore farmers will finally migrate. They will need jobs !

9

JOB CREATION

1. Education must cater to the needs of Society

and not be an ivory tower.

2. India needs to create 1.2 crore jobs / year.

3. These jobs will only come via vocations.

4. Today, > 30% graduates are unfit for a job.10

VOCATIONAL TRAINING / APPRENTICESHIP

1. Oldest method of learning. Father to son.

2. Articled clerks in CAs.

3. Assistants to Doctors.

4. Vocational Training requires Partnership between

• Government

• Colleges

• Industry

• Chambers of Commerce 11

EDUCATION SYSTEM

1. Schools

2. Conventional Colleges – Arts, Science, Commerce

3. Technical Education – Engineering, Medicine, etc.

4. Newer Disciplines – MBA, Hotel Management, etc.

5. VOCATIONS

12

SHOW STOPPERS

1. Act of Parliament e.g. Germany.

2. Labor Laws: Minimum wages, PF, ESIC.

3. Much greater Government Push.

4. Public Awareness.

5. Today Administration of Vocational Training is diffused – Department of Labor, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of HRD.

6. Apprenticeship Act needs to be over hauled.

13

COUNTRIES ADVANCED IN VOCATIONAL TRAINING

1. Germany

2. Japan

3. USA – Community Colleges

4. President Koehler , Germany (2010)

14

CENTRAL BUDGET FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING

1. Government set-up a National Skills Development Corporation in 2008 with a capital of Rs 10 crores !

2. Budget for FY 2012-13 provides Rs 1,000 crores for Vocational Education.

3. Punjab Government is setting up 2,500 skill development centres at a cost of Rs 3,300 crores which will train 4 lac students. 15

THE GERMAN MODEL1. Vocational Training setup in 1880s.

2. About 50% of High School students go for vocational training in 344 trades. They get ⅓ salary as stipend.

3. State and local governments setup schools, industry provides on job training and Chamber of Commerce, the exams.

4. One in 3 companies offer apprenticeships.

5. Germany has a Vocational Training Act 1969 which has 350 recognized programs.

6. Germany has a “Federal Institute for Vocational Training & Education”.

7. 20 lac students are enrolled in Vocational Training vs 11 lacs in India.

16

SUMMARY1. About 50% of students should be in Vocational

Training and 50% in conventional colleges. Today only 7% students are in Vocational Training.

2. India needs to create 1.2 crore jobs per year. These jobs will mainly come from Vocations.

3. About 10 crore farmers will migrate to other occupations. They will need jobs.

4. Enrolment in Vocational Training needs to increase from 11 lacs to 150 lacs.(FICCI Report - 2010).

5. Vocational Training needs joint action of the Government, Colleges, Industry and Chambers of Commerce. 17

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Create a Act of Parliament, similar to the German Vocational Training Act, 1969.

2. Revise PF, ESIC, Bonus and other Acts, relating to stipend to Apprentices.

3. Overhaul the Apprenticeship Act.

4. Centralize Vocational Training under the Ministry of Education (HR).

5. Increase Government budgets on Vocational Training.

6. Seek help from Germany, Japan, etc. (President Koehler). E.g. IIT & IIM.

18