Blog: Need for better skill training mechanism for boosting employability in the Indian workforce

Skilling

Need for better skill training mechanism for boosting employability in the Indian workforce

HR Heads from corporates say that students have the necessary theoretical skills but when it comes to the practical part, they lack big time.
Need for better skill training mechanism for boosting employability in the Indian workforce

Day in and day out we hear about how graduates are unemployed. This isn’t recent news in case you’re wondering. Indian youth, college graduates with degrees from prestigious institutions are unemployed, but why?

If we dig deep and go to the root cause, it is primarily because employers don’t find graduates possessing the necessary job employment skills. HR Heads from corporates say that students have the necessary theoretical skills but when it comes to the practical part, they lack big time.

Let us try and understand why. Lately, we have observed that in our country ‘college life’ has become synonymous to ‘fun’ and ‘fests’. Ask any student and they’ll tell you how strongly they believe that college is meant for having the time of your life with friends.

With such a mentality being accepted and promoted, there is no doubt that employability will be decreasing among the Indian workforce. What we need is skill training. We need universities to introduce the concept of compulsory internships and practical learning. Most students think they’ll graduate from college and get a job. This is where skill development comes in the picture - to make them realize that what they need to do is develop a career and not just have a job. What makes this even more relevant is the fact that according to the UN’s report India has the largest youth population in the world and almost 50% of the population is under the age of 25.

That being the case it is essential that the future of the country is being productive and focusing on their skills for several reasons, the primary one being so that the country is out of poverty.

They need to learn that what they are doing is more than just a job or a means to an end. The business scenario is changing rapidly and educators should ensure that their students are ready not just for today’s corporate world but also for what lies ahead. In order to have a competitive advantage, having the necessary on-field skills are essential. 

We’ve spoken all about the urban youth. However, there is a large chunk of the population who are young and wish to work but do not have the skills or resources in rural parts of the country. For them, our government has started several skill development programmes. Skill India is a very important and helpful initiative started by our PM. Other schemes include National Skill Development Mission, National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (Prime Minister Skill Development Scheme), Rural India Skill, Skill Loan Scheme, etc.

The truth lies in the fact that employment opportunities do exist and thousands of vacancies are there in today’s world but companies are very choosy when it comes to finding the right employee. The reason is simple - they want you to grow while you help the company grow. So if you aren’t passionate about your own growth and development, how will you be passionate when it comes to the company?

Skill development is the need of the hour. Today organizations themselves invest in skill development courses for their employees so that they are up to date. Moreover, it helps channelize the vast potential of indigenous manpower and if done right, will transform India into a diversified and internationally-competitive economy.

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Topics: Skilling, #GuestArticle, #SkillUp

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