Key Role in Vocational Education, Importance of Vocational Education, Role of Vocational Education, Vocational Education Importance

India in 2002 - a very Young Nation, we want Action!

55% of Indians [550 million people]

are below 30 years of age and 70% of Indians [700 million people] are below 35 years of age! India is a very young nation.

India's Priority - Primary + Secondary Education + Vocational Education & Training

While India needs IIT's, IIM's and Medical colleges, (we are fairly well organized for higher education, in fact we have too much of it) the real requirement is for Primary Education & Secondary Education and Vocational Education & Training. 100% of India's population need basic or Primary + Secondary education while 90% need to get into some sort of Vocational Education & Training after high School. Everyone cannot become an Engineer, MBBS, MBA, Accountant or a Lawyer! The Founder Trustee of our foundation is from IIT and feels that for every one IIT India need's 1000 or more Vocational Education & Training Centres!

Vocational Education & Training in Europe

University education does not necessarily prepare the youth for Life; also there is NO guarantee of a job after a university degree. It is for this reason that 80 to 90% of the youth, after the 10th, opt for Vocational Education & Training where they work part time [at minimum or lower wages], as apprentices, with Industry and Trade for 2 to 4 years and study simultaneously in a Vocational Education & Training Institute, for learning the theory and acquiring the relevant knowledge and theory.

This way, the business and trade get low cost manpower for 2 to 4 years, while the youth are learning a new trade, both on-the-job as well theory in the Vocational Education & Training Institute. This combination results in World Class skilled youth. There are 2500 trade options in Europe. These Vocations cover the Manufacturing, Service and Trading Sectors, including Agriculture as well as the New Economy.

Vocational Education & Training

If India could impart Vocational Education & Training, rather than only the conventional college education, it would benefit all and have the following additional advantages for the Nation:

Prepare the youth for a vocation of their choice
Build up a formidable Work-Force of International Quality, which would have demand not only in India but in all countries of our Planet. In India only IT training is world class. See how it has and will transform India in the future. (We also produce World Class Engineers, Doctors, Accountants, etc.) In the manufacturing and service sectors there are hundreds of skills and vocations for which there is a worldwide shortage. For example, TV, electrical appliance repair & service. Automobile & Motorcycle repair & service. Foreign language skills. Medical and Health services. Hospitality, Tourism, Retailing, Construction, Telecommunications, Electronics, Agriculture, General Engineering, Teaching, etc. The list is very large.
For India we need millions of trained people in the area of services for Agriculture, Floriculture, Horticulture, Sericulture, Fishery, Health Care, Tourism, Trading, Services, Business and hundreds of skills for the Manufacturing Sector. We do not see World Class Vocational Education & Training infrastructure, even after 55 years of India's independence.
Reduce Unemployment by supplying world-class skilled people required by the Nation and for rest of the World!
Reduce Cost & Improve Productivity of Trading, Services and Manufacture by providing skilled Man Power. Run the country with a higher efficiency, lesser wastage and lower cost of operation.

Wastage of scarce resources - 10+2, BA, B.Com or BSc, - is it worth it?

In India the scramble for College and University education is a disaster for all concerned. It seems, we are preparing the youth to become "Babus". The country does not only require "Babus"; in fact we have too many of them! We require an entire spectrum of skilled manpower. What is the relevance of a BA, BCom or BSc or even a MA, MCom or MSc degree in today's complex economy? Probably very little, since it may be required for hardly 3% of India's population, or about 30 million people per year at the most, at this stage.

We are stretching the existing higher educational facilities to a breaking point. The Faculty and infrastructure is not able to cope at the increasing number of students, after they have completed their high school education. Like "Zombies" every one wants to join some college or the other with out a road map or plan about their future. It's a National Tragedy of sorts!

Government + Industry + Trade + Services + Educational Institutions - need to work together

As you are in the think tank of India's education set up and are probably looking at ways to act as a catalyst to improve the productivity of Industry, Trade and Services as well as to make India more competitive, you may like to take up this matter of Vocational Education & Training with all the State Authorities, the Ministry of HRD and Education in New Delhi, and all the Chambers of Commerce in India as well as the All India Business Associations such as CII, FICCI & ASSOCHAM.

Vocational Education & Training (VET) - A road map for Success of India!

Overview of HRD in India

In Germany and the Central European countries, nearly 80 to 90% of the children entering the age of 14 and beyond go in for vocational education & training. About 10 to 15% go ahead for higher studies. The same is also true for the 'Asian Tigers' and USA. In India, generally, every one tries to go in for Higher Education.

People in India between the ages of 15 to 30 are nearly 300 million. There are 550 million people in India, who are less than 30 years of age and 728 million who are less than 35 years of age. Indians are very young. This is a big strength and advantage of India, which needs to be fully energized and strengthened.

The total unemployed, in India, are estimated at about 300 million. About 450 million are illiterate.

About 300 million live below the Poverty Line, sectors overlap. They have NO 'net' to fall back upon least of all a 'safety net'. The 'organized sector' constantly complains about the unavailability of a 'safety net', not realizing that they are living in India and NOT in USA or Europe.

About 29 million are born every year and enter the present educational system at different stages. As per the figure on page 20 of our booklet, we notice that nearly 94% drop out at different stages and only 1.6 million make it through the present educational system, which lays emphasis only on higher education. The balance, 27.4 million are left on their own to fend for themselves or may get some help from Central & State aided programs!

Organized sector

Out of the total 400 million employed, about 28 million, or 7%, work in the organized sector (2m, in PSU's + 18m, with Central & State Governments + 8m, with the organized private sector). This sector is 'high cost' and 'overstaffed' leading to high cost and inefficiency, in the Indian context. We could do with lower cost with higher quality and efficiency. This also hampers India's export potential in world markets. The present education system seems to be preparing the youth for this sector. This is the rich or elite sector of India and needs no form of subsidy whatsoever. In India, Poverty line is at Rs. 300 per month per man. The World Bank definition is also about Rs.50 per day per person(US$ 1 per day). Minimum wages are at Rs. 1250 per month or Rs 50 per day. To improve its cost competitiveness, this sector needs enterprise skills development (ESD) and vocational education & training (VET).

Labour or employee reforms are also needed in this sector, as explained in our Manufacturing Policy for India. The present 'Labour Laws' seem to protect the organized Public sector and also the organized Private sector. Work Ethic and Work Culture Indian Standards also seem to emanate from this sector.

Unorganized sector

372 million, or 93%, work in the unorganized sector, in agriculture, construction and with SME's. They are the ones who need help in primary & secondary education (P&SE), enterprise skills development (ESD) and also vocational education & training (VET).

Maximize use of existing infrastructure in the country

India is a poor country. The existing land, building and other infrastructure should be upgraded and used, as far as possible. Operating two or more shifts in metropolitan towns and cities should be encouraged, so that the existing workforce could also have an opportunity to upgrade its skills and competency. In most countries, VET is an ongoing and continuous life long process of learning.

Marketing the need and benefits for vocational education & training in India

There are 14 stake holders, within the Indian Economy, who are connected with the need and use of Vocational education & training, besides Primary Literacy and Entrepreneurship skills. We, who are outside the PSSCIVE, NCERT and MHRD feel that very little has been done to inform and educate the citizens and these 14 stake holders about the benefits and need for vocational education & training. This is a separate presentation which we have prepared and also presented last week at Bhopal.

India's future lies in becoming a resource base in manufacturing, trading, services & tourism.

For details, kindly refer to our 32 page booklet as well as our manufacturing and educational policy. It is all the more important that we need world class vocational education and training as well as entrepreneurship skills development for a major part of our workforce.

With 17% of global population - India should be a powerhouse for Human Resources.

Excepting in information technology and software, which is only 1.5% of world GDP, we do not train Indians to world-class standards. We do export engineers, doctors and chartered accountants, but this number is very small. There is no planned effort for the balance 98.5% of economic activity, such as for healthcare, foreign languages, engineering and skilled craft men. India has no known manpower plans, which are relevant for the present and future world markets or to plan for the onslaught and opportunities because of globalization. We do not know what are the international manpower requirements for the next 10 years, country by country, and where Indians could play a role.

Entrepreneurs are mostly people who are skilled in some trade or competency.

From the above data it is quite clear that government cannot provide jobs to the 29 million who enter the workforce every year. Otherwise we would need one 'NEW' India every year, just for this. Since most of the employment generation would come from export led organized sector activities or from the unorganized sector, which accounts for nearly 93% of the work force, the empowerment of the people of India with vocational education & training can only be overemphasized time and time again.

Restrictive Economic practices, which restrict employment generation, such as

Reservation of some Industry under Small Scale sector. The size of a manufacturing unit cannot be decided by some official in New Delhi. It is decided by International market forces and by the cutting edge technology and processes which would be required to produce the product with the best quality and lowest cost, to be able to make it world class. A case in point is the 'Mini Steel Plants' where thousands of crores of Indian tax payer's money was invested in about 100 mini steel plants! In to day's context a steel plant should be of 5 to 10 million tons capacity per year. It will produce low cost steel which could trigger off many down stream units, using this steel as a raw material.
Restrictive Labour Laws. Indian companies are migrating to high Capital Cost Technologies since Indian Labour Laws encourage Indian business to employ the lowest number employees and use very expensive technologies, rather than have the freedom to use the lowest cost technology and use the largest number of employees. This is the saddest testimony of what we have achieved in the last 55 years and how we have systematically deformed our manufacturing sector.
Not recognizing that Enterprises means all types of business and not only Industry! In USA, Europe, Japan and most countries of the world, SME's account for nearly 80% of economic activity and employment. This has been elaborated in our booklet - Wake up INDIA. In India, sadly, this fact is also here but it is NOT recognized. For example banks will lend to an Industry but not to a firm in trading, agriculture, services or non-industrial activity. Enterprise means all types of economic activity and not only Industry. A SME in USA, Japan, Taiwan, Europe means enterprises with about Rs.150 to Rs.250 crores turnover and about Rs 80 to 100 crores investment. How can an Indian small unit ever compete with such an enterprise?

Structure of the Central as well as State boards of education

The boards seem to consist of employees of government departments and people from the field of teaching, with practically very few or no representatives from the other 14 stake holders, as mentioned in item 4 above.

Inadequate use of the Internet to enhance communications

India is doing a fine job the area of software and Information Technology. Most of this benefit goes to countries where our I.T. services and solutions are exported. Very little is being used to improve India. Only 5 to 6 % of Indians understand English, yet we do not have central government or state wise websites in English and the state languages so to provide transparent information about the Vocational Institutions and the courses offered by them, in each State, city wise, village wise and district wise. The sites must be hosted in dynamic fonts so that the regional media, schools, colleges, trade, politicians and all citizens, can down load the information, where ever they may be located, since most Indian PC's do NOT have Indian software loaded on their systems.

Mapping of all economic activity in India

In spite of 55 years of Independence, we have not mapped and continue to update, on a yearly basis, all forms of economic activity in each state,

Road wise
Village wise
Town or city wise
District wise
By economic activity we mean:-
Agriculture
Industry, (Large medium and small)
Trading
Services
NGO's
Religious Organizations

Seminars arranged by PSSCIVE

Level - 1�..for those who have studied up to maximum of class 5. The best help for courses is available from DEIS in Pune. www.deispune.org. Contact: Pradeep Wagh, DEIS, Director General, Prabhat House, 56/20A, Law College Road, Pune 411004. Or log onto the website of www.IndianNGOs.com, and find out about other NGO's who may be offering VET courses. This is the informal sector. This needs to cater for about 60% of total seats, or 17 million / year. Artisans and trades people in villages need up gradation, hence this number is the largest.

Level - 2�for those who have studied up to the 10th. The best courses are from PSSCIVE in Bhopal, which is part of NCERT, under the MHRD. Contact: Prof. S. Z. Haider, Jt. Director, PSSCIVE, 131, Zone - II, M. P. Nagar, Bhopal - 462011. This is the formal sector. This needs to cater for about 30% of total seats, or 10 million people per year. PSSCIVE courses can also be adapted for Level - 1 training.

Level - 3�..[Certificate course from C&G], for those who have completed 10+2, in English medium and who would like to pursue an International Level VET course. This needs to cater for about 5% of total seats, or 1.5 million people per year. C&G is a124 years old NGO and trains 1 million people in 103 countries.

Level - 4�..[Diploma course from C&G], for those who have level 3 or equivalent and who would like to pursue an International Level VET course. This needs to cater for about 3% of total seats, or 1 million people per year.

Level - 5�..[Advanced Diploma course from C&G], for those who have completed level 4 or equivalent and who would like to pursue an International Level VET course. This needs to cater for about 2% of total seats, or 0.5 million people per year.

The current Indian scenario

70% of Indians are less than 35 years of age and are eager to learn and train. The present 'college' system does not prepare the youth for skills sets required to run a Nation nor does it provide scope for employment! Presently, only in IT & Software are such skills available to the youth in India. However this ONLY comprises 2.0% of the GDP in India and the rest of the world. We need skill sets also for the balance 98% of the economic activity! In Manufacturing, Trading, Service sectors and also for NGO's. The ITI's are doing excellent work, in some trades, however their courses need up-gradation and international recognition. We need to deliver Vocational Education & Training in regional languages and in English. After 55 years of Independence, we cannot get an Internationally Certified carpenter, car mechanic, retailer, export-import assistant, wholesaler, mason, electrician, gardener, beautician, etc

It is a real tragedy for India, that we generally want to pump out IIT & IIM types, or students with MBA or business management, marketing and finance skills! For every such person we require a few hundred other skill-sets, which are NOT available in India to International Standards, in order to face global competition. We have +300 million unemployed or underemployed, but all that we seem to be interested is to encourage 10+2 and BA / MA, B.Sc / M.Sc, B. Com / M.Com...types, who can only do clerical jobs! We need many skill-sets to run a modern economy, in Manufacturing, Trading and Services, this aspect seems to have been forgotten by our planners. We plan to change that situation by encouraging Vocational Training & Education, VET, rather than only the conventional college education, as practiced today.

Our contribution

We are working with the largest and oldest NGO Institutions in the UK, City & Guilds or C&G and can offer Vocational Education and Training Programs, with content and certification. They are offering 600 courses in 22 major fields, bundled within 52 main or 'mother courses'.

C&G is more than 124 years old, operating in more than 103 countries and certifying more than 1 million people per year! We have already initiated and enabled 40 VET centres in western India, in the recent past. C&G issue's nearly 1,000,000 certifications per year to students all over the world. India is lagging behind and needs to change for the sake of employment generation and improving the economy to International levels of efficiency & productivity. C&G has set up support offices in all major cities of India to assist Indian Institutions to achieve world-class standards in Vocational Education & Training.

C&G certifications are fully recognized in :-

Common Wealth Countries, eg, Canada, Australia, South Africa,
Europe,
Middle East,
S. E. Asia,
USA & Canada, etc