Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, stresses that the better alignment between the demand of the industry and skilling programs in the country is a requirement in itself. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Tiwari underlined the critical role that Human Resource managers have while shaping the future workforce of the country.
He said that though various companies are investing in-house skilling programs, an effective and successful nation-wide skilling mission needs to be undertaken in a more integrated way between industry and educational institutes right from the beginning. The strategy in this collaboration will ensure the new work force is provided with proper preparation for changing demands emerging across sectors in a rapid mode.
Tiwari said in his speech that vocational education needs to be integrated into the traditional academic programme because the National Education Policy clearly mentions efforts through the National Curriculum Framework relating skilling with mainstream education. “The main thing,” Tiwari said, “is to connect the skilling element with the standard curriculum.” This integration will make an academic learning process flow smoothly into a skill-based training program-a plus for students who get to be more flexible with their educational and career paths.
Tiwari suggests competency-based degree programs, where the concept is for a student to earn credits through a combination of learning and work exposure. This would bring about the kind of lifelong learning culture where a student can enhance his skills profile and again return to college to advance his career. “We’re getting to an order where it’s competencies, not degrees, that prove success,” he said.
The heart of this shift lies in India’s growing digital public infrastructure, which can be leveraged for building a more agile and responsive skilling ecosystem; says Tiwari. This, along with strategic guidance by the NEP, will create an effective ecosystem to counter the changing needs of the industry and ensure that India boasts a competitive and adaptable workforce. It therefore calls for a proper alignment of all the elements so as to fill up the “missing link” between education and employment, thereby accelerating long-term economic growth.
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