Imbibing Skill Development amongst the youth

Today, the world and India need a skilled workforce.Skills and knowledge development are the driving forces behind the financial growth and community development of any country. Skill building is a powerful tool to empower individuals and improve their social acceptance. It must be complemented by economic growth and employment opportunities to meet the rising aspirations of youth.

Saurabh Joshi talks to educationbiz about the significance of Skill Development in today’s generation. A consultant with Ernst & Young Consultant and also currently consulting Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship on its ambitious Skill India Mission, Mr. Joshi thinks the future isexceptionally bright in this sector.

According to you, what importance do you discover regarding Skill Education in India today?

Skill is an integral part of Education. And with the fact that jobs creations are becoming challenging and the country has to grow economically, it is important that the skills are embedded right at the school level. For that, a lot of effort is to be done. At school level, we integrate the regular Education with the Vocational Education.

Any significant changes that you have observed in the Education system, pertaining to Skill Development

A lot of reforms have been undertaken at the Government of India. There has been a lot of focus in bringing Industry on board and this is probably the main reason behind the increase in Industry engagement. The Government is pushing a lot on the role of apprentices where you can do short term vocational programs and then work as apprentices in various private and public sectors so that you gain the requisite knowledge for you to be employable. In this way, you make your future secure On the other hand, It is also beneficial for the industry because they get a productive workforce which can contribute to the economy and further enhance the GDP of the nation.

Talking about employability, do you think India is still lagging behind when it comes to Education and Employment? Is there any gap that is to be filled?

There are various perspectives to that. There are 1 million who enter the workforce every year. The challenge here is to provide employment to these 1 million. We need to build institutions that can support such Skill Development initiatives. It is to be understood that this is the need of the hour and the candidates are to be trained in those skill sets so that they are able to help the industry grow.

We are moving in the right direction but however, scale here is a big factor. So accordingly, Infrastructure needs to be created at that level.

When you talk about scaling students of today’s generation, what are your future plans?

I have been working in the segment for a long time now and I see huge scope in the skilling domain. I am working with the Government of India on policy framework so I see a lot of policy actions happening. Similarly, when we progress there will be policy changes.

With Automation coming into picture, there is a fear of people losing their jobs. My role here is to realign the policy levels and skill sets of the Individual.

So, certainly the future is bright in this sector and I am happy to contribute for the same.