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Contents
VOLUME 10 ISSUE 07 JULY 2014 ISSN 0973-4139
INDUSTRYSPEAK
28 New-Age Technology for Next-Gen Classrooms
Vineet Mahajan, Head, Display Solutions, Panasonic India
SPECIAL FEATURE
48 Will Stem Take Roots and Wings?
FEATURE
34 Transforming Learning, Transforming
Lives
41 Learn, Retain and Excel
Nirav Khambhati, Chief Executive Ofcer,
Tata ClassEdge
42 Smartpen
empowering
learners in India
Manu Nanda, Managing
Director, Wacom India
Pvt Ltd
44 Brace up for
m-Learning
Monica Malhotra
Kandhari, Senior Director,
MBD Group
45 Budget version of
digi-school in ofng
Chetan Mahajan,
President, HCL Learning
NEWS
08 School Education
09 Higher Education
12 Campus Calling
LEAD FEATURE
54 Skill Matters: Building Brand India
58 New Solutions must for upskilling
RCM Reddy, Chairman, FICCI Skills Development
Forum and Managing Director & CEO, IL&FS
Education & Skills
60 The Pace of skilling
mission could
change
Dilip Chenoy, CEO
& MD of National
Skill Development
Corporation
62 Review welfare
schemes that
guarantee
employment
Dr Santanu Paul, MD &
CEO, TalentSprint
64 Tie degree to
successful internship
Subhasish Biswas,
Head Business
Excellence,
Wipro BPO
LEADERSPEAK
30 Bringing Global
Concepts to India
Alok Sinha, President & Head, Global Applications &
Engineering Services, Country Manager - I
ndia, Xchanging
46 Better Times Ahead for Indian Techies
Dr Surendra Prasad, Chairman of the National Board of
Accreditation
COVER STORY
Boarding Schools: Home Away From Home?
P 14
Dilip Chenoy,
CEO & MD of
National Skill
Development
Corporation
60
MonicaMalhotra Kandhari,
Senior Director, MBD Group
44
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July 2014 / digitalLEARNING
SPECIAL FEATURE
O
ur country has earned a reputation for
scam India. We will have to transform this
into skilled India. There is an urgent need
for manpower in the world. Our neighbour
China is getting older and we are getting
younger. Our priority should be skill develop-
ment in the youth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while
replying to the debate on the motion of thanks on President
Pranab Mukherjees address to Parliament.
There is a need to have skill, not just certicates,
Modi added.
After steering the BJP-led NDA to power with an
absolute majority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has a tough task ahead to revive the Indian economy,
uplift the hundreds of millions of poor and create jobs
for the tens of millions of youth and build brand India.
K S Narayanan of Elets News Network reports
LEAD FEATURE
Demographic Dividends
Emphasis of the new government is well-placed. A population
of 1.3 billion with about 0.8 billion in the working age - In-
dia in 2020 is surely something the world can look forward to
and this is what makes skill development signicant for several
reasons. According to economic predictions, that time (2020)
would be the golden Growth era in the demographic dividend.
It is estimated that India would not only have enough man-
power to meet its own needs, it can help the rest of the world as
well. Amidst the glitz and glamour of these numbers, one often
chooses to ignore that in todays knowledge-based economy, the
Skill
Matters
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quality of the workforce is more important than its quantity.
Skill Decit
It is estimated that India would have a skill gap of 75-80 per
cent across sectors.
According to a survey conducted in March this year by a
job portal CareerBuilder India, the current job market is not
only frustrating for those looking for employment, but also for
businesses with open positions unable to nd the right talent.
The skills gap in India is an issue that is not going away any-
time soon, CareerBuilder India Managing Director Premlesh
Machama said. Around 78 per cent of the surveyed employers
said they are concerned with the growing skills gap in India,
while 57 per cent said they currently have open positions for
which they cannot nd qualied candidates.
The report further suggests that costs associated with the
skills gap can add up quickly and have broader implications for
business performance. There is a growing disconnect between
the needs of the employers and the skills that are available in
the job market today. This causes workers and companies to
miss out on realising their full potential and creates multiple
negative consequences for businesses, Machama added.
There is a growing disconnect between the needs of the employers and the skills
that are available in the job market today. This causes workers and companies
to miss out on realising their full potential
digitallearning.eletsonline.com
Skill
Matters
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July 2014 / digitalLEARNING
SPECIAL FEATURE
Institutional Mechanisms
To create such an institutional base for skill development in
India at the national level, a Coordinated Action on Skill
Development with three-tier institutional structure consist-
ing of the PMs National Council on Skill Development, the
National Skill Development Coordination Board (NSDCB)
and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) was
created in early 2008. With the creation of National Skill
Development Agency (NSDA), the National Council on Skill
Development, the NSDC Board and the Ofce of the Adviser
to Prime Minister on Skill Development have now been sub-
sumed in NSDA, while PMs National Council on Skill Devel-
opment was constituted as a Cabinet Committee on Skill De-
velopment in 2013.
Different stakeholders including India Inc have huge expec-
tations from Modi government to x the skill decit.
Welcoming the creation of new skill development ministry,
RCM Reddy, Chairman, FICCI Skills Development Forum and
Managing Director & CEO, IL&FS Education & Skills expects
three issues to be resolved immediately. Streamline the imple-
mentation of skills schemes and programmes between 18 min-
istries to attract more professional agencies and private sector
partners to join the skilling mission. One of the important ar-
eas within this will be focusing on creating uniform funding
across ministries and departments with higher incentives for
capital expenditure intensive programmes, extend skills devel-
opment within the scheme framework for the informal sector
which could lead to self employment and entrepreneurship
LEAD FEATURE
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and fast track PPP initiatives for setting up of ITIs and Poly-
technics.
Co-ordination, hike budgetary allocation
The Modi government has for the rst time created an exclu-
sive ministry to focus on skill development, entrepreneurship,
youth affairs & sports and appointed Sarabananda Sonowal,
the 51-year-old BJP leader from Assam.
Acknowledging the acute skill decit in the country, So-
nowals ministry is undertaking a study to determine whether
there is need for adopting different models for different states
and settting up institutes for skill development immediately af-
ter the study is completed.
Co-ordination among several ministries is a must to accel-
erate the pace of skilling Indian youths. Prime Minister Modi
needs to x the inter-ministerial squabbles as union ministries
(Labour, Human Resources and Rural Development) fear los-
ing their turfs and funds as well. Skill development is a mas-
sive government programme with annual allocation of about
`5,000 crore. The funds and the work are spread over 11 min-
istries including HRD, labour and rural development that often
end up working at cross purposes.
Take for instance the Rural Development (RD) ministry
which received `1,400 crore in the last budget for its skill pro-
gramme Aajeevika, which is run by district RD ofcers by en-
rolling self-help groups while the Urban Development ministry
runs similar programmes in the cities and was allocated `100
crore. UPA-2, near the end of its tenure, had put the nance
ministry in charge of coordinating with all ministries on skill
development via the national skill development agency. It had
set a target to train 11 million youth in 2014-15 and 500 mil-
lion youth by 2020.
Another issue that will translate the new governments
good intent into action is the hike in budgetary allocation and
incentives for those afliated to sector skill councils.
The challenge of skilling 500 million by 2022 has not
changed. What possibly could have changed is that pace with
which we go on year on year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has used four critical words-Skills, Speed, Scale and Sus-
tainability. His slogan is Shrameva Jayate and he talked
about the need to empower people across the country. To con-
vert that vision into intent and execution, we need to step up
and accelerate action for going forward. Again, it all depends
on budgetary allocation and what we focus on, Dilip Chenoy,
CEO/MD National Skill Development Corporation said in an
interview.
If the new government can remove irritants and bottle-
necks and synergize the efforts and resources to provide a fea-
sible platform for vocational education and skill development,
evolve solutions for upskilling 500 million by the year 2022, it
will not only create jobs for youth but could help India emerge
as the global choice for foreign direct investment and a global
talent provider besides steering the Indian economy to higher
growth trajectory.
Upskilling 500 million
by the year 2022
will not only create
jobs for the youth
but could help India
emerge as the global
choice for foreign
direct investment
and a global talent
provider besides
steering the Indian
economy to higher
growth trajectory
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July 2014 / digitalLEARNING
LEAD FEATURE
As one of the important
stakeholders in the skills mission,
what are your expectations
from the Union Minister for Skill
Development, Entrepreneurship
and Youth Affairs?
The setting up of a new ministry is a wel-
come move. India is faced with the target
of skilling 500 million by 2022. A dedi-
cated department on skills development
was the need of the hour, especially to
engage the growing number of young
people actively looking for employment
opportunities.
Some key areas where the new minis-
try must focus to ensure greater impact
are :
Streamline the imple-
mentation of skills
schemes and pro-
grammes between
18 ministries to
attract more pro-
fessional agencies
and private sector
partners to join the
skilling mission. One
important
area will be creating uniform funding
across ministries and departments with
higher incentives for capex-intensive
programmes.
Extend skills development within
the scheme framework for the infor-
mal sector. The current framework of
placement-linked skills programmes
does not cater to people interested in self-
employment. With less than 93 per cent
of economy being non-formal, focus has
to be on skills development for livelihood
generation.
Fast-track PPP initiatives for setting
up of ITIs and Polytechnics that facili-
tates quality training to create world
class public infrastructure for vocational
education and training.
IL&FS Skills India started its skill
development programme way
back in 1997. What were the
challenges and how do you see
the road ahead ?
There was no proven business model
10 years ago when we began our op-
erations. Hence, we were left with no
choice other than learning
from international
best practices and
customising them to
local needs. Today,
we have mastered
the process and
re-invented it by
engaging indus-
try in delivery
and implemen-
tation. Ever since we launched our rst
multi-skill centre at Hi Tech Weaving
Park in Palladam near Coimbatore,
Tamil Nadu, we have improvised on our
training delivery methods and experi-
mented to create a standardised scalable
model that draws strength from the inte-
gration of technology, innovation, inter-
activity and industry relevance.
We are focused on bringing the next
wave of innovations to cater to the ever-
changing needs of industry as well as
learners. We are focused on two key ar-
eas : moderating the price point of skill
services so that learners-especially from
Bottom of Pyramid groups-can afford
training and improving the quality to
make learner experience valuable.
Speaking of innovations in the skills
delivery model, we are currently focus-
ing on integrating skills development
within mainstream education basis the
National Skills Qualication Framework
(NSQF). The objective is to reach out to
the masses and bring vocational educa-
tion at par with formal education.
How big is the challenge of skill
development for India?
Among several challenges facing the vo-
cational education sector in India, two of
them stand in between Indias economic
growth and its reaping the benets of the
demographic dividend.
First is inadequate infrastructure: As
per Twelfth Plan projections, about 25
million new entrants would join the la-
bour force in the next ve years. In India,
New Solutions must
for upskilling
IL&FS Education & Skills is one of the two organisations proled by the global analyst McKinsey
while assessing the success and impact of skill development world-wide. RCM Reddy, Chairman,
FICCI Skills Development Forum and Managing Director & CEO, IL&FS Education & Skills
spells out how the government and the industry need to collectively address the challenge of skill
development in India
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the per capita availability of institutions
imparting formal education is much
higher than those imparting vocational
education. Poor presence of vocational
institutions means the community is
less informed about it and hence their
poor utilisation. The location of institu-
tions also affects access. Also, poor infra-
structure facilities of classrooms, equip-
ment, workshop, and trained teachers
etc. within the institution affect the
quality of training imparted, affecting
learners future access to jobs.
The second is inadequate nancial
support through bank loans and schol-
arships. Several afrmative schemes of
the government have been able to cover
the costs of vocational education of peo-
ple from BPL groups and minority com-
munities. However, a major part of the
population are not covered under any
scheme and do not have any access to
institutional loans either.
Do you see vocational training
and skill development getting a
boost under the corporate social
responsibility as mandated under
the new Companies Act?
We are working with some of the top
PSUs and private sector companies to
implement their CSR vision on skills de-
velopment. We have already established
pan-India operations in a hub and spoke
model with our presence in 25 states
through a network of 38 multi skills
training institutes as hubs called IL&FS
Institute of Skills(IIS) and another 250+
single trade skilling centres as spokes
known as the IL&FS Skills Schools(ISS).
With our outreach in remote, difcult
terrains, left-wing extremist affected
areas, it has become easier for the PSUs
who have their establishments in such
locations to partner with us. The Cor-
porates also want to earn goodwill of
the local communities and skill develop-
ment has proved to be a big boon to their
operations.
With Prime Minister Narendra
Modis new thrust on skill
development, does IL&FS have
new plans for expansion?
There is no proven management tech-
nique that will deliver a skilled India.
It would need new solutions and ap-
proaches, and that requires leadership
- both at the political level and within
the industry. We are happy to see the
political will building right from the
Prime Minster and are ready to support
his mission of attaining shram-ev jayte or
dignity of labour. We have already estab-
lished 38 institutes and are keen to ex-
pand ourselves, especially in the Middle
East and African countries, which also
face the same demographic challenges
as ours.
The IL&FS Skills website mentions
that its aim is to train 4 million
people by 2022 under the Skills
Programmes for INclusive Growth
(SPRING). How do you plan to
achieve it?
We are one of the only training institu-
tions in the country to offer skills devel-
opment programmes to the entire learn-
er spectrum. We wanted to create an
institution which is able to cater to every
individual who wishes to get skilled and
does not have any entry barriers. With
this objective in mind, we rolled out six
different programmes including Skills
for Jobs, Skills Upgradation, Skills for
Good Governance, Skills at Schools &
Colleges, Skills for Trainers and Skills for
Entrepreneurship.
We have skilled 14,30,000 people
on a pan-India basis. 4,00,000 of these
have been skilled through placement
linked programmes and are from Bottom
of Pyramid groups, and mostly school
drop-outs and 8th or 10th pass. Today,
49 per cent of our successful trainees
are women, largely from the backward
regions of the country.
As chairman of the FICCI Skill
Development Forum, how well do
you think is the industry geared up
for the skill development mission
considering that they too will
benet out of it? What are their
concerns in this regard?
A few years back, we were discussing the
demand supply gap of trained man-
power. Today, with the presence of sev-
eral private training providers and afr-
mative government schemes, there has
been a considerable deluge in the avail-
ability of skilled and certied manpower.
However, the industry does not seem to
be creating jobs at the same pace to ab-
sorb the millions joining the labour mar-
ket every day. There is also the problem
of large scale migration of labour which
has its own repercussions of labour up-
rising and increasing attrition rates.
Is industry adequately incentivised
to boost skill development?
Low incentives have been acting as a
dampener to the spirits of big corporate
houses which have been investing heav-
ily knowing the risks involved and the
slow returns on investment. A favour-
able investment climate with adequate
incentives through lower interest rates
for loans and relaxed taxation norms
will help the government boost private
sector participation in skills develop-
ment.
The National Skill Development
Corporation has been asked to
carry out skilling of 150 million
Indians by 2022. What should
the government and NSDC do to
achieve this target?
We need to build a skills development
model that is inclusive to achieve a Skills
for All agenda. The objective would
be to address the issues of relevance in
skill development in terms of Quantity,
Quality, Outreach, Equity and Systemic
reforms. There is also an urgent need to
mainstream skills formation in the for-
mal education system and, at the same
time, adopt innovative approaches for
skill creation outside the formal educa-
tion system.
We are happy to see the political will building
right from the Prime Minster and are ready to
support his mission of attaining shram-ev
jayate or dignity of labour