Make In India – Leveraging Human Capital to Prosper in a VUCA World – Bridging the gap

Current Initiatives

While the 2015 Ernst & Young report on the subject highlighted that institutions such as ITIs are unable to meet the industry requirements of skilled manpower and outsourcing, leading to an increased reliance on the private and diploma institutions, the stated reasons for this preference being gap in technical curriculum as per the industry needs, lack of exposure of the teaching faculty to the changes in technology and up-gradation of infrastructure at ITI’s, the government has stepped in to amend the Apprenticeship Act as a start to addressing these pain points by:-

·        Dismantling of trade-wise and unit-wise prescribed numbers

·        Setting the minimum and maximum limits on number of apprentices to be engaged

·        Linking of the stipend to minimum wages for apprentices

·        Inclusion of all undergraduate, postgraduate and other approved vocational courses

·        Revision of curriculum of apprenticeship courses to align to industry requirements

·       Focus on bringing self-regulation and monitoring in the industry rather than enforcement by state through penal measures

·         Online portal for bringing in speed and transparency in approvals

Developing a competency-wage grid

A lack of commonly accepted standards which define the required levels of competencyfor an individual, and correlates the same to an ideal wage was another key challenge, that is being addressed by  development of the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). NSQF lays down the competency framework and standards with respect to levels of competency for many trades in the industry, by

·   Creation of National Occupational Standards (NOS) for various job roles by sector skill councils (SSC).

·    Establishment of 10 competency levels thereby enabling vertical mobility in terms of skill levels.

·       Inclusion of competency levels that can be acquired by educationally disadvantaged/ school dropouts, 10th/12th pass-outs thereby, enabling them to acquire skills for livelihood.

However, to ensure success, the Government needs to put further impetus on the execution of the above initiatives and collaborate with industry to ensure sustainable success. Industry Initiatives of designing and introduction of specialized courses in partnership with academia, leveraging of technology & new methodologies to supplement OTJ, and setting up of training centers by the larger organizations to train employees as well as ecosystem partners will be critical in taking ‘Make in India’ to its logical successful completion.