Skill Vibes: Pause..Reflect..

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 rep...

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...

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 guideli...