A sizable section of the population is employed in the unorganised sector, and many of them have underutilised skills
New entrants to the workforce will need to be skilled and made employable if India's economy is to stay competitive on a global level while it goes through structural changes, technological advancements, and changes in demographics. Using the same logic, it is predicted that an extra 70 million people who are working age (15-59) will be in the labour force by the end of 2023. This number has been computed using the country's current population. As a consequence, 59 million more young people (15 to 30 years) will be employed, raising the overall number of persons in the labour force to around 404.15 million. According to the findings of the periodic survey of the labour force, mechanisms for reskilling and upgrading the capabilities of the current workforce, as well as the official recognition of skills that have been acquired informally, will need to be enhanced in the future.
Given this circumstance, India is taking creative action to maximize the potential of its population that fuels the country’s economy. Additionally, skilled workers can move from India due to the ageing populations that are present in many developed nations, which is favourable for both the nation that is hosting them and the one to which they are migrating. Consequently, both countries gain. Three key challenges may divest India from developing its workforce as skills required at a global level: first, there aren't many trustworthy avenues for foreign travel; second, the public and private sectors don't work together; and third, there aren't enough women in the workforce.
International Mobility
The India International Skill Center (IISC) program and other organized initiatives might help India achieve its goal of becoming the "skill capital" of the world. In April 2022, the state of Odisha, where Dharmendra Pradhan is the current Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, hosted the official opening of the first IISC. The development of 14 IISCs across India was planned for the year 2018 as a pilot project for the NSDC.In reality, India should turn the IISCs into a national organization. The NSDC must now decide to construct 30 IISCs in a public-private partnership to carry out the Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY), a program for young people who are seeking opportunities outside of India, after the introduction of the Union Budget 2023–2024.
To advise and guide prospective immigrants, a new network of IISCs will conduct International Internship and Student Certificate (IICSC) Program with a focus on skill assessments, upskilling, language learning, and pre-departure orientation. There is a further need to establish government-to-government and business-to-business connections with new markets, such as those in Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and East Asia, which is required to increase the mobility of India's blue-collar and white-collar workforce.
There are 262 million working people in India over the age of 30 years, 259 million of them are now employed and need future preparedness. To promote reskilling and upskilling programs, build tight business ties, and prepare the workforce for cutting-edge technology and the workplace of the future, several skill development options may be used. These models can be utilized in a variety of contexts. These techniques include on-the-job training directed by the industry, market-driven training, and apprenticeship programs. In India, a sizable section of the population is employed in the unorganized sector, and many of them have underutilized skills. Even though a substantial majority of India's workforce works in the unorganized sector, this is still the case. Since having a formal certification may improve a person's bargaining skills, interventions based on the notion of "Recognition of Prior Learning" (RPL) are crucial in this circumstance. According to the findings of many surveys, persons who had earned their RPL certification made an average monthly salary that was 20% greater than those who had not. Both full-time and contingent workers encountered this.
Over 390 million individuals in India, according to the findings of a survey performed by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), have acquired skills outside of the job. It's possible that a combination of self-study, on-the-job training, and natural talent, helped these folks build their abilities. One of the most significant and urgent strategic concerns for India is the creation of new entry points for the country's thriving private sector to engage in political decision-making. Information asymmetries are one example of a market failure that prevents people from improving their talents: a competent person is aware of their skills, but a potential employer is not. If employers had access to all the information, they would be more likely to be prepared to pay more for a skilled employee. RPL is one kind of intervention that might be employed to address the identified informational imbalance. The persistent problem of low levels of female participation in the labour force is a third factor that casts doubt on the health of the economy. There are presently 395.2 million individuals working in the country, but only 91.6 million of them are women, according to data gathered from the labour force census. The use of skill-building activities in conjunction with a stronger push for empowerment, which includes the provision of economic opportunities, gender sensitization, as well as financial and social aid, may be able to increase this number.
(The writer is co-founder and MD, of Orane International, a training partner with the National Skill Development Corporation)
