In an effort to produce more skilled labour in the country, the government has allowed manufacturing units to establish in-house training centres to meet their specific requirements. This decision was revealed by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at the recent CII-Industry Academia Conclave, which was organised to discuss the country’s industrial and educational landscapes. This is a significant step taken by the government as there is a dearth of skilled workers in the country. To effectively bridge the employment gap, efforts should be made to provide practical training to aspirants, along with formal education. Without practical experience, the gap will continue to increase and the country will have to deal with a huge workforce unfit for the modern workplace.
The lack of skilled labour is one of the main factors behind the recent surge of unemployed youths in the country. Youths are not able to land jobs after finishing their education due to lack of necessary skills required for their dream jobs. The situation demands a closer cooperation between academia and industry to establish a strategy for imparting necessary practical training to make graduates eligible for employment. In this context, if private companies are allowed to establish their own skill development centres, it will provide huge relief to numerous job aspirants as they will be able to plan their future with the help of requisite training. The issue of unemployment has the potential to create social upheaval if not addressed properly.
The advantages of such a move can be judged by the success of Reliance-Dassault collaboration in Nagpur, where youths are acquiring industry-specific skills. Similar models should be used all over the country to aid the hopes and aspirations of youths beginning their professional lives. For years now, we have sidelined the need for skill training and given preference to academics, going against the requirements of today’s tech-savvy world. The situation needs to be remedied by providing equal importance to both to meet present-day demands. It is crucial that Singur-like incidents where the investor’s reluctance to employ unskilled labourers in the proposed car manufacturing company led to massive protests and eventually forced them to drop the idea do not repeat themselves.
Taking note of the infamous Singur incident, both academia and industries should strive for a seamless integration of education and employment to make India a global hub for skilled labour. To remove all roadblocks towards achieving the goal, the Centre must coordinate its efforts with state governments and draw a comprehensive plan that can benefit the maximum number of youths. Furthermore, such centres should provide special emphasis on rural populace, who despite being hardworking, often lack skill training opportunities. To rectify the flaw, some seats in such centers should be reserved for youths from rural backgrounds for India to reap demographic dividend.
