The Challenges Facing Skill Development in India: An Issues Paper International Workshop “Skill Development: Policy Learning and Exchange”

Issues for Discussion

Vocational Education Should the VE system be expanded, given its past poor performance? How can the school system be expanded to expand the skill base of the labour force? How can the open school students be covered under VE? What institutional mechanisms are needed to put in place an efficient labour market signaling system in collaboration with industry? How can vocational courses be made flexible to allow students to switch courses with changes in demand patterns? What is the apt international model for VE programme that suits Indian conditions? How can vocational courses be dovetailed with other technical courses to allow forward linkages and mobility for students? What can be done to change the societal perception of VE as a dead- end, low grade educational activity?

Skill Development in the Unorganized Sector How can the issue of certification for informal trainees be dealt with? What has been done in other countries? Can an income support programme be devised for the trainees to compensate them for the high opportunity cost of training? Can a model be devised that ensures that the organized sector enterprises take some responsibility for training unorganized workers? How can coordination in training be synergized across different training programmes by various Ministries and agencies? How have other countries achieved this kind of coordination? What role has the organized sector played in building capacity for unorganized sector workers in other countries? How can the training needs of, and demand for, labour be determined for traditional clusters that have no industry association & are highly fragmented? Would a special thrust on SD for service sector occupations, particularly those that are likely to be in the unorganized sector help?