Skill Vibes: Pause..Relax ..Read

The effectiveness of any skill development program heavily depends on the support provided to students throughout their journey.  An integral part of this support is skill counselling, which aims to guide and assist students during the mobilization, admissions, and assessments, including Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Unfortunately, the current state of skill counselling in India leaves much to be desired. There is a significant shortage of dedicated counselling professionals who can provide the necessary guidance and support to students as they navigate the complex skill development landscape. This shortage becomes particularly evident during the mobilization, admission, and placement phases when students require accurate information about courses, career prospects, hiring practices, and the relevance of different programs to their goals.  Some of it can be offset by technology (kiosks, websites), or through print material(brochures, leaflets) but may not be able to replace the

2005-06 were the early years when people were getting re-energized to the idea of skill development. Several platforms were getting created to bring stakeholders together to exchange views and discuss challenges and possible solutions.  It was one of these meetings where an idea was initiated to engage the senior and mid-management of the training system into taking some number of classes in the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to make the training process more efficient. This also had some added advantages where the senior and mid-management could get a first-hand feel of the training institutes and would also keep the staff at the institute more alert. However, the response of one senior representative was alarming, as he stated that he had worked hard to advance in his career and did not want to return to the institute. The mindset and culture within the training system revealed by his statement remain unchanged even now after 18 years.  Nevertheless, there is merit in the idea

The gap between what the industry needs and what the skill training institutes offer has remained despite the efforts of the eco-system created by the Skill India initiative. There is no let up in the efforts and investments with the view to continuously upgrade and realign to the changing environment. Taking a clue from the NEP 2020, which aims to provide an inclusive, equitable, and quality education system that fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. One approach to achieving the objectives of bridging the skill gap is through the use of design thinking, a human-centered problem-solving methodology that emphasizes empathy, experimentation, and collaboration. In practice, design thinking, which includes critical thinking and problem-solving, can be useful in a variety of contexts, like curriculum design, project-based learning, and teacher/trainer training. For example, in the context of curriculum design, design thinking can be used to develop courses that are re

The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is a flagship scheme of the Indian Government aimed at providing skill-based training and certification to the youth. Recently, the scheme was in the news when the Finance Minister in the Union Budget speech said “Under PMKVY 4.0, on-job training, industry partnership, and alignment of courses with needs of industry will be emphasised,” The Minister further said. “The scheme will also cover new-age courses for Industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.” The FM rightfully mentioned strengthening the industry connect and introduction of future skills in PMKVY 4.0, India's latest version of the skills development program. The development and refinement of these niche future technologies is the job of people possessing higher level of education and skills; however, it is the "application" of these skills which falls under the preview of programs like the PMKVY. It is thus pru

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 proposes the revision and revamping of all aspects of the education structure to create a new system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of the 21st century. The policy mentions that it is critical that children not only learn, but more importantly learn how to learn, thus moving towards less content and more towards critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, how to innovate, adapt and absorb new material. Pedagogy, thus must evolve to become more experiential, holistic, integrated, discovery oriented etc making learning enjoyable. The teacher must be at the centre of the fundamental reforms in the education system.  The implementation of the NEP 2020 it appears will hinge on the most important link in the value chain ie the "Teacher".  The 4 important aspects impacting the teachers directly are shortage  of teachers; their t raining and capacity building; r e-establishing the respect of the teachers as essential members o

My article published in the Editorial Section of the Skill Reporter online magazine is reproduced below:  It can also be accessed via the link: https://www.skillreporter.com/2022/09/editorial/recognition-prior-learning-rpl-skill-development-expert-inder-gahlaut/ Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL): Glass half full or half empty RPL by definition and common understanding across the globe is the process of formally recognising a candidate’s previous achievements from a range of activities, towards part of a qualification and not just a skill certification component to enable Indian youth to take on industry relevant skill certification which will help them to secure a better livelihood as described in the skill development’s flagship scheme PMKVY. The Government has laid great emphasis on RPL that is why 72.5% target allocation of PMKVY 3.0 is in favour of RPL, however, corresponding efforts to strengthen the system to deliver this component requires attention. There are guidelines