New Delhi: Youth and unemployment are two complementing words in the existing industrial scenario. The traditional education structure in India is theory centric that provides students with in-depth information on the subjects but lacks practical skill training to make them employable. Millions of students are graduates but very few are employed. Skill-gap is a crucial factor to increase unemployment which can be fixed by switching from conventional to skill-based teaching methods. Upgraded technology and numerous initiatives to promote skill up-gradation amongst aspirants are playing an instrumental role in bridging this gap.
Challenges of skill gap prevailing in the market
According to Piyush Nangru, COO & Co-founder, Sunstone Eduversity, “There is a constant dilemma amongst individuals for why they are not getting employed. Ironically, we have lakhs of unemployed graduates who don’t possess skills and at the same time, many skilled candidates are also unemployed as they are not graduates.
What should students do? Is there any choice?
The young country like India with the maximum number of job seekers joining the labor market every month is not a good beginning of the future of the nation and these students as well, all due to the least focus on skill development in the academic courses.
Possible Solutions to Solve Skill Gap
According to the Ministry of Skills and Entrepreneurship Development (MSED), 20 ministries have implemented 40 skill development programs to train 50 lakh students annually on vocational skill courses. These programs are to be run either under State or Central Government schemes or in private colleges to make students job-ready.
The Indian education sector has undergone an extreme change in the last couple of years and a lot of new interventions and aids have been a part of this segment. The government of India has permitted 100% Foreign Direct Investment in the education industry which as a result has received an inflow of US$ 2.47 up to March 2019. Moreover, the industry has experienced 18 mergers with acquisition deals up to US$ 49 million in 2017 says Piyush Nangru, COO & Co-founder, Sunstone Eduversity.
Intending to create holistic development of education in the country, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in 2018 introduced the Samagra Shiksha scheme. Such new education policies address the shifting dynamics in the education industry and cater to the needs of the entire population and at the same time fill the demand and supply gap of skill-based learning in the industry.
India has stepped ahead towards building the largest set of skilled professionals by integrating education and vocational skilling. Colleges and institutes are redefining their educational modules to introducing technology-driven educational platforms. They are also opting for interactive course material to strengthen their theoretical skills while honing their practical skills with hands-on training sessions.
How Indian colleges are changing their conventional education system to make students job-ready?
- Along with academic courses, colleges now have introduced vocational skill programs as well. It will help students to learn basic and specialized skills while gaining theoretical education.
- Conventional teaching methods have been transformed into integrated teaching methods that include the concept of four classrooms – On-Site, On-the-Job, on-campus and online.
- Ed-tech platforms are also playing an instrumental role in providing additional quality education to the aspirants across the nation through their online training and coaching classes. This is especially impactful for the students residing in remote areas.
- Professional counseling sessions for students have been introduced by various colleges. Such sessions assist students to recognize their interest and enroll for the most suitable course to hone required skills that would land them to the right job.
- Several colleges and companies have collaborated to let students get an insight into the corporate sector. They can get to know the real challenges ad requirements of the field with practical experience.
- Many colleges invite industry leaders to deliver guest lectures and motivate students to participate in live professional training sessions.
- Most colleges have strategically upgraded their curriculum, infrastructure, laboratories and study syllabus content to sustain student’s interest in learning.
- Apart from students, colleges these days arrange for rigorous knowledge up-gradation sessions for faculty to stay updated about the industry norms and developments. Teachers shape the future of students; hence, it is extremely important for teachers to learn and evolve consistently.
- Another very interesting trend that colleges have introduced it to the campus placement cell. It manages campus placement drives to help students fetch a good job in hand before passing out from the college. Reputed organizations are called up on to interview students and hire them directly.
- Colleges encourage students to undergo stipend-based summer training programs to learn and acquire professional skills
- Unlike before, colleges now have made some interesting amendments in their regular curriculum. College studies now include grooming of soft skills, communication skills, managerial skills, and socializing skills of students to make them presentable on the professional front.
The country like India has the largest population of young people in the age bracket between 5 – 24 years that depicts a huge potential of educational opportunities but still there is a huge gap in the supply of skilled professionals in the market. However, India has an extensive number of English-speaking population that makes quality professional education and training easy. The amalgamation of language proficiency and hands-on training is an excellent combination to create potential employees. Advance technology, tailor-made educational programs, advanced curriculum, timely counseling and training of practical and soft skills are successfully changing the face of Indian education and the future corporate world by creating job-ready professionals right from the very basic level.
