Opinion Moving in for the skill

Eight per cent of new entrants into the work force have no opportunities for development of skills. While there are 12.8 million new entrants into the work force every year,existing training capacity is 3.1 million per year. In both rural and urban India,and for both males and females,attendance rates in educational institutions drop by around 50 per cent in the 15-19 age group. Simultaneously,labour force participation rates begin to increase in this age group and by the time it comes to the 25-29 age group,it is 95.0 per cent for rural males and 94.4 per cent for urban males. Figures for females are lower at 36.5 per cent in rural India and 22.1 per cent in urban India.

If one considers the government’s road-map for delivering skills,such as stated in 11th Plan document,it has the following. Implement a Skill Development Mission,with Skill Development Programmes involving private sector,so that placement is also ensured. Provide one-time capital grants to private institutions and stipends and subsidies towards fees for SC/ ST/ OBC/ minorities and other BPL (below poverty line) candidates. Enlarge the 50,000 Skill Development Centres. Expand public sector skill development infrastructure by a factor of five. Once expanded,this can be handed over to the private sector for management. Expand capacity for vocational education in schools,with focus on capturing Class VII and Class IX dropouts. Assess skill deficits sector-wise and region-wise. Establish a National Skill Inventory and a National Database for Skill Deficiency Mapping. Reposition employment exchanges for career counselling. Establish a national qualifications framework,to establish equivalence and vertical mobility across various forms of vocational education. Set up third-party accreditation systems,de-linked from the regulator.

The Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development,National Skill Development Coordination Board and National Skill Development Corporation (NKDC) have been set up. Beyond the signal that skill development is important and has been recognised as such,it is too early to speculate what will come out of these efforts. Much the same can be said of the “National Skill Development Policy”,formulated by the labour ministry in March 2009. Nevertheless,some points should be flagged. First,if the proposed labour market information system is developed,there should be better quality of information on skill deficits,sector-wise and region-wise. And there should also be movement on affiliation,accreditation,examination and certification. Much of this is sought to be done through the National Council on Vocational Training (NCVT). Second,coverage of the Apprenticeship Training Scheme will be expanded. Third,employment exchanges will be strengthened and upgraded.

There are several reasons for dissatisfaction with the government’s road-map. First,government ministries and departments work in silos. Notwithstanding reform intentions,it is not obvious that multiplicity is going to decline,with improvement in coordination. Second,implementation remains a state subject and there is no guarantee that delivery will improve across all states. Third,though the road-map incorporates possible private sector provisioning too,it is fundamentally based on expansions in formal public training systems. While the formal versus informal or the organised versus unorganised dichotomy is often policy-induced,it is necessary to subsume successful examples of delivery in informal and private categories. Fourth,quite a bit hinges on improving vocational education in secondary schools. Increase in enrolment rates at the primary level will create eventual pressures to improve secondary schools. But at the moment,there is no particular reason for optimism.

The writer is a Delhi-based economist

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