For Vocational Education and Training in India, some 17 ministries and departments are involved in the provision and financing of vocational education and training with a total annual training capacity of about 28 lakh (2,800,000) students.

But as many matters managed by our governments, the vocational training system is full of superlatives and potential on one hand, and inefficiency on the other. The so-called agencies have put their slogans only in their printed guidelines and handouts without taking the real target populace.

In this age of liberalization, India is still way behind in training the people in different specializations. Vocational training is to impart specialized skills and knowledge, and instilling social and political attitudes and behavioral patterns essential for successful economic activities by people engaged in dependent employment, self-employment or subsistence work.

Vocational training can be of various types depending on the way it has been acquired. 'Formal training' refers to all training courses held in state or private (but state-certified) institutions and regulated by state guidelines.

'Non-formal training' covers all forms of training which takes place without being subject to state guidelines. In-company apprenticeships, both in formal or informal sector enterprises, are one of the most common forms of non-formal training. This kind of training also includes all programmes and projects offering skills-upgrading for those already active in the labour market, but who wish to extend their competencies by attending evening or weekend courses.

There are no prerequisites for anyone to acquire vocational training. Both men and women can get trained at any time during their life. Studies have already proven that formal education is not a prerequisite for acquiring practical skills for income-generation, especially in the context of the informal sector. However, India's formal vocational training system often creates minimum educational prerequisites leading to exclusion of those with lower levels of education.

In India, vocational education falls under the charge of the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD). The Ministry oversees vocational courses being offered in school Grades 11 and 12 under a Centrally Sponsored Scheme called 'Vocationalization of Secondary Education' since 1988. Only the schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) offer the courses in accordance with the board's scheme of studies and the course structure.

The courses are of two-year duration and span 6 major disciplines like dairying, farm machinery & equipment (Agriculture), accounting and auditing (Business and Commerce), electrical technology, air conditioning and refrigeration (Engineering and Technology), X-Ray technician, health care and beauty culture (Health and Para Medical), and preservation of fruits and vegetables, food services and management (Home Sciences and Humanities).

Vocational training, on the other hand, broadly refers to certificate level crafts training (in India) and is open to students who leave school after completing anywhere from grades 8-12. Programmes administered under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) are operated by Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Industrial Training Centres (ITCs). This scheme falls within the purview of the Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGET), under the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE).

At a higher level, the technical education and vocational training system in India produces a labour force through a three-tier system: Graduate and post-graduate level specialists (e.g. Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and engineering colleges) trained as engineers and technologists. Diploma-level graduates who are trained in polytechnics as technicians and supervisors. Certificate-level craft people trained in ITIs as well as through formal apprenticeships as semi-skilled and skilled workers.

According to the Constitution of India, the central government and the state governments share responsibility for vocational training. The DGET is the nodal department for formulating policies, laying down standards and other technical requirements for vocational training. It also governs a number of specialized training-related institutions.

The ITIs, both public and private, operate under the general guidance of the DGET. Two bodies - the Central Apprenticeship Council (CAC), a statutory body and the National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT), a non-statutory body - operate as advisory institutions.

The most important NCVT functions involve: establishing and awarding National Trade Certificates in engineering and non-engineering trades, prescribing standards for syllabi, equipment, space, duration of courses and methods of training; arranging trade tests and laying down standards of proficiency required for the National Trade Certificate; recognition of training institutions for the purposes of issuing National Trade Certificates and laying down conditions for such recognition.

The State Councils for Vocational Training (SCVTs), as well as Trade Committees have been established to assist the NCVT. They advise the state government on training policy matters and are supposed to co-ordinate vocational training in each state.

Coming to curriculum, vocational training devotes 70 per cent of its time to practical instruction while the rest is theory. The Central Staff Training & Research Institute (CSTARI) at Kolkata is responsible for preparation of draft curricula and their revision from time to time. The DGET's Curriculum Development Section coordinates this work. It scrutinizes the draft curricula and obtains approval of the NCVT.

The periodicity of revisions depends on the technological changes taking place in industry in each trade. Generally, the introduction or revision of curriculum is based on recommendations made by NCVT. This should be done in consultation with relevant trade committees whose members are drawn from industry, technical institutions and DGET institutes.

However, all of the above is how things should be. In reality, most curricula 'followed' at institutes imparting vocational training have little relevance for wage or self-employment of the trainees.

Plumbing courses which have been running for the past five decades continue to be taught irrespective of the market demand for plumbers in the region.

Even in the cases when the courses offered do not meet the market demands, the Principals of the ITIs have the mandate and the duty to counsel students accordingly and encourage them to obtain company apprenticeships under the Apprenticeship Training Scheme, for instance. This scheme is developed to ensure hands-on training experience among students which significantly increases their employability.

Students typically train with the industry for 6 months - 4 years coupled with 30 pc theoretical classes.

In fact, we are now concentrating on spreading this message even at the Panchayat levels. There is only a certain amount of influence that we can exercise in our decentralized structure.

Often, the ITIs and other institutes are enmeshed in such an impenetrable web of bureaucratic functioning that by the time any recommendations from the industry find their way into practice, they become irrelevant.

Additionally, both the HRD and Labour Ministries have been reviewing their respective systems of vocational education and training to make it market driven.

According to the Planning Commission's 2003-2004 Document, the Vocationalization of Secondary Education scheme has been evaluated by a number of expert groups including the Working Group on Vocational Education that was set up for the Tenth Five Year Plan. On the recommendations of this group, the scheme was recast for the Tenth Plan as Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

But the scheme has not gone down well with the stakeholders due to logistic and academic constraints that require streamlining of the courses and establishment of strong industry-institution linkages.

The Government of India in recent years has laid a lot of emphasis on streamlining vocational education so that it fulfils the emerging need of the market by focusing on employability skills.

In consonance with this thrust, the CBSE has introduced a course in Financial Market Management (FMM) under vocational stream which is likely to be renamed as Professional Education & Training.

In the Budget Speech 2007-08, Union Finance Minister announced a scheme for up-gradation of 1396 Government ITIs into centres of excellence in specific trades and skills through Public Private Partnership. In pursuance of this announcement wide/ranging discussions were held with State Governments, Industry Associations and other stakeholders and a Scheme named "Up-gradation of 1396 Government ITIs through Public Private Partnership" was formulated.

The Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs (CCEA) of the Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 25.10.2007 has approved this Scheme 'in principle' for the XI Five Year Plan period and has given financial approval for one year for up-gradation of the first batch of 300 ITIs at a cost of Rs.774.5 cr.

The Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGE&T) in the Ministry of Labour, Government of India initiated the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) in 1950 by establishing about 50 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for imparting skills in various vocational trades to meet the skilled manpower requirements for technology and industrial growth of the country.

Moreover, the Skill Development Initiative (SDI) is another major scheme. SDI is a five year project (2007-12) during which one million persons would be trained or their existing skills tested and certified under modular employable skills framework. Total outlay proposed for the scheme is Rs.550 crores for the 11th Plan.

In addition, All-India Trade Tests are conducted by the DGE&T, Ministry of Labour under the aegis of the National Council for Vocational Training in July and January every year for various examinations.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been conducting the "National Work Skills Competition" since 1989 to encourage workers in the engineering industry in India by recognition of excellence in skills and creating awareness among workers of the need for skill augmentation.

There have been other signs of malaise. As against the target laid down in the revised policy of diverting 25 pc of senior secondary students to the vocational stream by year 2000, only 10 pc of students opted for the vocational stream.

Put this finding together with the low levels of wage and/or self-employment among ITI graduates and the cause and affect becomes obvious.

The present set of skills being taught at various vocational training institutes are not fetching gainful employment which is why few students wish to opt for the vocational stream. The skills being offered do not reflect the demands of the market which is why the market cannot and does not absorb students with those skills.

One of the main reasons for the lack of market responsiveness among vocational training courses is the limited or no participation of the industry in contributing to curricula development.

It is the industry which has to finally employ the training graduates. Hence, their mandate in determining what their future employees need to be taught can hardly be overemphasized. There are some rare cases of industry participation as members of Institute Management Committees (IMCs) for ITIs. But even such participation has been found to namesake, at best.

There are still other challenges. Most crucially, industrial associations that integrate small and micro-enterprises of the unorganised economy are not invited to be partners of the state training systems.

All this, in an economy in which 92 pc of the labour force is engaged in the informal or unorganised sector producing close to 60 pc of the GDP!

On the other hand, the unorganised sector has seven times greater labour intensity per unit as compared to the organised sector and is some five times less capital intensive. Thus, the unorganised sector is not just the hub for employment creation but also for manual skills.

The need for skills development here can hardly be overstated.
Studies have only reinforced the fact that a majority of workers in the unorganised economy of India have never been to vocational training institutions and/or school.

On the other hand, the formal skills training system, because of its educational entry requirements and long duration of courses, is designed to exclude the underprivileged informal sector workers. Yet, given the vast size of India's informal workforce, the need to address the skills of informal sector workers is more pressing than any other.

One of the weaknesses of the Indian education system is that it does not gives due importance to vocational education. As a result there is a mismatch between the skilled manpower required and skilled manpower available.

Every year we churn out millions of graduates who do not have the specific skill sets required by the market. If this trend continues it would hurt our economic growth in the long run.

To change this situation first we need to change our mindset. In India, people are obsessed with attaining a graduation degree and generally look down upon vocational education.

This has resulted in a situation where, on one hand, there are scores of unemployed graduates and on the other hand, there is a huge shortage of skilled workers such as plumbers, electricians etc.

By - Sadaket Malik
The author is a freelance columnist based in Jammu.