Vocational and skill training go a long way in bridging the skill gap and make the youth employable, says RACHIT JAIN
India is at a strange crossroad. Education is evolving at the speed of lightning, the rate of unemployment is also skyrocketing, doubling in the past two years. According to the State of India’s Environment report (2019), the unemployment rate has gone up from 4% to 7.6% in the last two years. This can be contributed to the fact that one should not blame the employers but the lack of employability amongst students. The complaint is unanimous — a lack of employability is rampant as students get entrenched in bookish knowledge while failing to grasp basic practical skills like as communication, aptitude, ability to think on their feet and so on.
There is an evident skill gap that is required to be bridged to harness prosperity for the nation and at the pace at which hiring is evolving, it is even more essential to pick up the pace, rather remaining behind. Yet, institutions and schools, as well as parents/students, aren’t aware of the importance of inculcating vocational training and nurturing skills into the regular curriculum.
Here are a few salient reasons why vocational and skill training is essential for the present scenario:
Cultivates learning style: Every person comes with his style of learning that remains incomparable to the rest and this holds for students as well. Some students can simply read and understand a concept, while others have a penchant for probing further to unearth an interesting feature that would encourage the assimilation of knowledge.
Yet, our curriculum is molded in such a way that individual minds are forced to be slotted into a particular type of learning that is fit for society.
In such situations, it is the students who are unable to learn properly as their natural pace of learning faces a severe roadblock, inhibiting them to apply their faculties to the fullest. Vocational training provides the space for learning at one's own pace.
Cultivates job readiness: The transition that one goes through from educational to occupational level is huge as one move to a stage where he has to apply all the lessons learnt all this while. And yet, more often than not, they fail at grasping every basic that is required from them, making work even more difficult.
Adapting to the corporate world, with its set of ups and downs, remains a challenge that people fail to tackle. Vocational training enables students to adapt to the corporate world at a much faster rate; adding depth their portfolio and helping them materialize their vision. With vocational training, young professionals wouldn't shy away from taking the initiative to work.
Cultivates communication and critical thinking : Irrespective of whichever segment you work for, communication skills are the kernel of growth and development.
Vocational training improves the level of communication as it exposes the students to a plethora of people from all walks of life- both novices and veterans, therefore giving them the industry experience and exposure needed to enhance their portfolio. As for critical thinking, students would learn the process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, and/or evaluating information gathered. This would further urge them to expand their thinking and function aptly.
Why Government and private entities need to work together to harness this trend: There is a requirement for the proper administration of vocational education by various states government and better co-ordination between different state departments and agencies, to secure relevant talent.
While there is a place for promises, what the Indian educational scenario needs is an actionable approach, which organizations like Youth4work are trying to bring in, via providing a variety of skill-building courses to enhance career and growth. Soon the draught of employability will meet the right skilled force to empower the nation that is as vivid as India.