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EMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN THROUGH VOCATIONAL

EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Dr. R. Vijaya Anuradha1 and Dr. G. Lokanadha Reddy2
Abstract
Education is instrumental in making the remarkable contribution to economic growth of the Developing
Countries by way of suitable manpower production according to the needs of the Industry, Society and the
Global World as a whole. To produce fully skilled manpower/knowledgeable technocrats in the present era of
science and technology is the need of the hour. Youths and women are the most vibrant and dynamic segment as
well as potentially most valuable human resources. However, despite phenomenal capabilities, India is seriously
handicapped with a very weak and narrow knowledge and skills base, with 12.3% gross enrolment ratio, as
compared to 21% in China, 54.6% in developed countries and the world average of 23.2% (Vijay, 2008).
By concentrating on the rural women population, where, over two-thirds of the world’s 860 million
illiterate persons are women – many of whom live in rural areas (ILO, 2009), the authors presented this paper
by explaining the concept and Meaning of Vocational Education and Training by linking it to life long learning.
They elaborated by pinpointing the importance of VET for under-privileged, marginalized groups and women in
the rural sector in particular, as it is a powerful weapon against poverty and hunger, and for women’s
empowerment. By focusing on the need for VET for rural women, the authors felt that VET can make a big
difference for many of the rural poor and women by improving household productivity, employability and
income-earning opportunities and also for enhancing food security and promoting environmentally sustainable
rural development and livelihoods.
Further, the authors highlighted some of the barriers in providing VET to the rural women such as:
disadvantages in accessing basic education which is often a prerequisite for further skills development; Women
are less likely than men to be reached by agricultural extension workers; VET for rural women are often limited
to a narrow range of female-dominated fields that reinforce their traditional roles and responsibilities and so on.
Also, by focusing on the current status and opportunities of VET for rural women, the authors explained that
VET on the whole plays a crucial role in the social and economic development of a nation and is subjected to the
rapid changing needs of education, society, rural sector, industry and the environment; careful identification of
economic opportunities and training needs assessment in the community; designing and delivering relevant skills
training; and post-training support to facilitate women’s access to wage or self employment and so on.
Finally, the authors concluded by suggesting some policy planning for empowering the rural women
through VET such as: Develop a gender-responsive strategy for education, training and entrepreneurship
development that responds to the needs of rural girls and women; Improved curricula that respond to rural
realities, such as combining agricultural training with conventional subjects; Complement vocational and
technical training with numeracy and literacy training for the rural women; Women, may also need training on
gender issues and life skills, such as health and nutrition, confidence building, negotiation and leadership skills
and so on.
Key words: Vocational Education and Skills Training, Women’s Empowerment, Self Employment, Gender Issues
and Life Skills.
INTRODUCTION
India has one of the largest technical manpower in the world. However, compared to its population it is
not significant and there is a tremendous scope of improvement in this area. In India, the emphasis has been on
general education, with vocational education at the receiving end. This has resulted in large number of educated
people remaining unemployed. This phenomenon has now been recognized by the planners and hence there is a
greater thrust for vocational education. Another shortcoming in the area of technical and vocational education is
that till now, the number of engineers graduating is more than the diploma holders. This is creating an
imbalance, as more work forces are required at the lower level. One of the nationally agreed objectives of the
vocational education and training (VET) system is to achieve equitable outcomes for disadvantaged groups

1
Post Doctoral Fellow, Dept. of Education, School of Education and HRD, Dravidian University, Kuppam – 517 426, A.P. State.
2
Professor and Head, Dept. of Education, School of Education and HRD, Dravidian University, Kuppam – 517 426, A.P. State.
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including women. It can thus be hoped that VET will play a major role in improving the lives of the people of
India.
CONCEPT OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the apprenticeship system and home were the principal sources of
vocational education. Since then society has been forced by the decline of handwork and the specialization of
occupational functions to develop institutions of vocational education. Manual training, involving general
instruction in the use of hand tools, developed initially in Scandinavia (c.1866) in response to the doctrines of
Friedrich Froebel and Johann Pestalozzi. It became popular in the elementary schools of the United States after
1880. While the immediate object of this training was not vocational, it developed gradually into extended
courses in industrial training. Courses in bookkeeping, stenography, and allied commercial work in both public
and private institutions were other early forms of vocational education.
Among the early private trade schools were Cooper Union (1859) and Pratt Institute (1887). Hampton
Institute (1868) and Tuskegee Institute (1881) were pioneers in industrial, agricultural, and home economics
training for African Americans. The agricultural high school (1888) of the University of Minnesota was the first
regularly established public vocational secondary school and introduced extensive public instruction in
agriculture. Since 1900 the number of public and private vocational schools has greatly increased.
Up until the middle of the twentieth century, vocational education focused on specific trades such as, an
automobile mechanic or welder, and was therefore associated with the activities of lower social classes. As a
consequence, it attracted a level of stigma. Vocational education is related to the age-old apprenticeship system
of learning. However, as the labor market becomes more specialized and economies demand higher levels of
skill, governments and businesses are increasingly investing in the future of vocational education through
publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives for businesses. At
the post-secondary level vocational education is typically provided by an institute of technology, or by a local
community college.
MEANING OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
General and academic education is seen as that which builds analytical skills, knowledge and critical
thinking, while VET develops craftsmanship, practical experience and practical problem solving. Venn (1964)
explains the etymology of the term ‘vocational’ as a sort of ‘calling’. He refers to it as education aiming at a
stable job and a stable career in a recognized profession, pinpointing its emergence somewhere in the 19th
century industrial revolution. Moodie (2002) analyses existing definitions in four dimensions - epistemological,
teleological, hierarchical and pragmatic. He argues that a definition is needed on all four levels, stating that ‘one
may consider vocational education and training to be the development and application of knowledge and skills
for middle-level occupations needed by society from time to time’. ‘Technical and Vocational Education’ is used
as a comprehensive term referring to those aspects of the educational process involving, in addition to general
education, the study of technologies and related sciences, and the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes,
understanding and knowledge relating to occupations in various sectors of economic and social life’ (UNESCO,
2001, p. 2). Vocational training is defined as ‘supplementary to initial training which is part of an ongoing
process designed to ensure that a person’s knowledge and skills are related to the requirements of his/her job and
are continuously updated’ (FAS, 2006).
Vocational Education or Vocational Education and Training (VET), also called Career and Technical
Education (CTE), prepares learners for jobs that are based in manual or practical activities, traditionally non-
academic and totally related to a specific trade, occupation or vocation, hence the term, in which the learner
participates. It is sometimes referred to as technical education, as the learner directly develops expertise in a
particular group of techniques or technology. Vocational education and training designed to advance individuals'
general proficiency, especially in relation to their present or future occupations. The term does not normally
include training for the professions. At a higher level, the technical education and vocational training system in
India produces a labour force through a three-tier system:
a) Graduate and post-graduate level specialists (e.g. Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and engineering
colleges) trained as engineers and technologists.
b) Diploma-level graduates who are trained in polytechnics as technicians and supervisors.
c) Certificate-level craft people trained in ITIs as well as through formal apprenticeships as semi-skilled
and skilled workers.
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Technical and Vocational Education plays a vital role in human resource development of the country by
creating skilled manpower, enhancing industrial productivity and improving the quality of life.
The term Technical Education (TE) and Vocational Training (VT) are sometimes used synonymously.
However, as per present practice, the term TE refers to post secondary courses of study and practical training
aimed at preparation of technicians to work as supervisory staff. The term VT refers to lower level education and
training for the population of skilled or semi-skilled workers in various trades and it does not enhance their level
with respect to general education (Vijay, 2008). Vocational education and training is any formal, post-
compulsory education that develops knowledge, skills and attributes linked to particular forms of employment,
although in some interpretations this would exclude professional education. VET includes initial training and
continuing professional development. It is closely linked to lifelong learning (Harvey, 2004–12).
IMPORTANCE OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VET is important as it enriches a person for life and it provides the competences which are necessary in
a democratic society. Societal and economic development depends on the strength of VET as it provides access
to skills and entry routes into the labour market. For under-privileged, marginalized groups and women in the
rural sector in particular, it can be an important route towards a better life. On the other hand, vocational
education and training are powerful weapons against poverty and hunger, and for women’s empowerment. From
a developmental perspective, investing in the education and training of females has the highest rate of return of
any possible investment in developing countries (FAO, 1997): educated mothers, having fewer children, invest
more in the health and education of each child, thereby raising the productivity of future generations, increasing
their income, and generating sustainable growth. Evidence from Asia suggests that better education enables rural
workers to find high paying non-farm employment, whereas a lack of education tends to limit their choices to
agricultural and low-wage non-farm employment (ILO, 2009). Over two-thirds of the world’s 860 million
illiterate persons are women – many of whom live in rural areas (ILO, 2009). The global secondary school
attendance rate of rural girls is 39% as opposed to 45% for rural boys and as compared to 59% and 60% of urban
girls and boys respectively (UN, 2009). In rural India, agriculture and allied industrial sectors employ as much as
89.5% of the total female labour. In overall farm production, women's average contribution is estimated at 55%
to 66% of the total labour (Manish Kumar, n.d).
Thus, rural women's access to education and training can have a major impact on their potential to
access and benefit from income-generating opportunities and improve their overall well-being. A variety of
approaches, including non-formal education, technical and vocational training, agricultural extension services,
workplace training, training in new technologies and literacy and numeracy training are needed to address the
various challenges rural women face. In addition, information and communication technologies (including
mobile and electronic communication, etc.), supported by the right policies and institutional frameworks, can
provide rural women with alternative avenues to access information related to their rights, services and
resources, and social protection (e.g. identification card registration; laws on land, inheritance, and
domestic/gender-based violence; and agriculture, market, health, nutrition information and so on).
NEED FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR RURAL WOMEN
Education and training are essential components of any strategy to improve agricultural and non-farm
productivity and rural incomes. Learning about improved production technologies and methods, new products
and markets, business skills, as well as life skills (such as health management, decision-making, self confidence,
or conflict management) can make a big difference for many of the rural poor, particularly the women folk (ILO-
VI, 2008). Women often have different training needs than men since they are more likely to work as
contributing family workers, subsistence farmers, home-based micro-entrepreneurs, or low-paid seasonal
labourers, in addition to handling their domestic work and care responsibilities (Jetting and Morrisson, 2009).
Even within agriculture, the gender division of labour for managing or undertaking specific tasks in
crop, livestock or fish production and processing, generates different technical and managerial training needs for
men and women. Self-employed women are not regarded as entrepreneurs in many rural communities and thus
have difficulty accessing entrepreneurship development training and services. Environmental degradation and
climate change pose threats to subsistence farming and call for new technologies, alternative crops or growing
processes – which demand new skills (ILO-V, 2008). Evidence suggests that climate change affects women and
men differently and their skills needs may thus also differ (ILO, 2009). Skills development is a key to improving
household productivity, employability and income-earning opportunities for women and also for enhancing food
security and promoting environmentally sustainable rural development and livelihoods.
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BARRIERS IN PROVIDING VET TO RURAL WOMEN
Despite rural women’s major role in agriculture and other rural activities, higher barriers in education
and training limit their opportunities and capacities to engage in more productive and remunerative work,
perform managerial and leadership roles and participate fully in the development of their communities, and
demand targeted action to dismantle them.
 Although primary and secondary school enrolment has improved significantly for rural girls in many
countries (ILO, 2009), they generally continue to suffer disadvantages in access that tend to accumulate
throughout their lives as basic education is often a prerequisite for further skills development; and women
receive less vocational training than men (Jetting and Morrisson, 2009).
 Women are less likely than men to be reached by agricultural extension workers (FAO, 2006).
 Women make less use of formal or informal apprenticeship systems (ILO, 2009), which often operate in
male-dominated trades.
 Negative attitudes towards the benefits of educating girls and lower priority for girls' education especially if
women’s remuneration is lower than men’s (gender discrimination in the labour market) and employment
opportunities are scarce. In addition, girls are seen as relatively ‘’transitory assets’’ - not worthy of long-
term investment - as they leave their parents’ household upon marriage. Often believed to be less worthy of
education, girls tend to receive less and miss out on opportunities to socialize, acquire knowledge, gain
skills and autonomy, perpetuating the vicious circle in which they are trapped.
 Higher opportunity costs for girls’ education in most cultures as families tend to rely significantly on girls to
help with household chores such as cooking, cleaning and caring for younger siblings while both boys and
girls often help with farm work (FAO, 2009).
 Rural women’s more limited access to land and other productive resources than men and their lower
educational levels, reinforced by social norms about appropriate work for women, tend to confine them to
lower paid, lower status work where opportunities for skills training and thus advancement are often limited,
thus perpetuating their inferior status.
 Vocational education and training for rural women are often limited to a narrow range of female-dominated
fields that reinforce their traditional roles and responsibilities. While this may improve their income-
generating opportunities, it will not give them the chance to benefit from newer, non-traditional fields, such
as information and communication technologies (ICT) or renewable energy that can provide higher earnings
or obtain more skilled technical or managerial jobs in Non-Traditional Agricultural Export (NTAE)
industries (ILO, 2009).
Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems are dynamic in nature. They face many challenges in
responding to societal, technological and economic changes in the local and global environment. The issue today
is not so much about the value and role of VET in the social and economic development of a nation but, the real
challenge is, how to reposition it in response to the global forces driving change in a knowledge-based economy.
VET plays a crucial role in the social and economic development of a nation and is subjected to the rapid
changing needs of education, society, rural sector, industry and the environment.
CURRENT STATUS OF VET FOR RURAL WOMEN IN INDIA
The vocational education system at present is largely irrelevant to the needs of the rural market,
particularly the women, in India. The participation of women is also especially low, something that warrants
further study (World Bank, 2006). Preliminary evidence seems to indicate that social and cultural norms may be
a binding constraint to their participation and that family responsibility has a significant effect on their
participation. Women also tend to become discouraged workers easily, especially in rural areas. Overall they
seem to be tentative entrants to the labor force: entering when employment conditions are good, and exiting
when they are not (Planning Commission 2002). About 73 per cent of the households belonged to rural India and
these accounted for nearly 75 per cent of the total population. About 64 per cent of rural males and 45 per cent of
rural females were literate. But, when vocational skills are considered, only about 10 per cent of male and 6.3 per
cent of female workers possessed marketable skills (NSSO, Report No. 517). A multi-faceted approach, which
includes literacy, hygiene and moral training, and skills training to improve their productivity, gives rural women
the tools to help uplift their communities.
Some NGO’s like Bahai, Seesha… are literally working hard for the empowerment of rural women in
India by providing vocational training where it focuses on developing skills related to sewing, tailoring,
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embroidery, hand and machine knitting, and the preparation of items such as bags, purses and coverlets. In
addition, there are lectures and discussions on topics related to social legislation, women’s rights, work ethics,
budget and accounts maintenance, marketing skills (communication), personal health and hygiene, family
education, environmental health and labour law. It serves the cause of education for girls indirectly by changing
attitudes, challenging social stereotypes, and redefining girls’ roles paving the way to the empowerment of
women through education. Need of the hour is many more such organizations along with the government’s
involvement in promoting Vocational Education and Training for the rural women.
OPPORTUNITIES OF VET FOR RURAL WOMEN
Rural women are more benefitted if they can make use of the available opportunities in vocational
education and training. A few examples to mention are:
 The women will get more employment opportunities and improve their daily lives, for e.g. In Bangladesh,
where 70 per cent of the population lack electricity, women are most affected as they need energy for
cooking and other household tasks. Grameen Shakti microloans financed the installation of over 100,000
solar home systems in rural areas and trained local youth and women as certified technicians and in repair
and maintenance. This provided women employment opportunities and improved their daily lives, while
solar systems are facilitating business start ups such as mobile phone centres, repair shops and handicrafts
(UNEP, 2008).
 TREE is an ILO community-based training programme implemented in Asia and Africa. It promotes income
generation and employment opportunities for disadvantaged women and men by providing them with skills
and knowledge they can use in their communities. Its strategy involves planning with local partner
institutions; careful identification of economic opportunities and training needs assessment in the
community; designing and delivering relevant skills training; and post-training support to facilitate
trainees’ access to wage or self employment (ILO-IV, 2008).
 In rural Pakistan, where social norms restricted women’s participation in training outside their homes,
female resource persons went to villages and trained rural women at home. Trainees’ increased income-
generating activities also generated greater respect for women in the community, and many experienced
increased mobility, self-esteem and socioeconomic empowerment (ILO-IV, 2008).
 In partnership with the Barefoot College of India, UN Women supports hands on training of rural illiterate
grandmothers in solar technology, so that they can become Barefoot Solar Engineers who will be equipped
to electrify their villages through solar energy. This provides them with an opportunity to access jobs in the
green energy sector, and enhance poor rural household's living standard.
 By providing post-training services such as access to credit or savings programmes, business development
services, training in product design and marketing and linkages to new markets, the women are more
benefitted by opportunities to adopt new technologies and production practices.
POLICY PLANNING FOR EMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN
Skills development for rural women and men often requires a combination of training in formal settings
(such as schools and training institutions), non-formal settings (such as community groups and NGOs) and
informal ones (such as learning from family or peers). It can comprise basic education, vocational training, life
skills training, entrepreneurship training, and agricultural extension services. Policy makers should aim at
designing and implementing a package of complementary measures to address the specific needs of each
category of rural individuals. These include the following policy options (ILO, 2004):
1. Develop a gender-responsive strategy for education, training and entrepreneurship development that
responds to the needs of rural girls and women.
2. Improved curricula that respond to rural realities, such as combining agricultural training with
conventional subjects.
3. Involvement of all parents and communities in planning and managing local education and schooling so
they better meet the needs of the boys and girls, their families and their communities.
4. Reduced gender stereotyping in vocational training to improve the classroom environment and
particularly to “dismantle” stereotyped profiles of rural women and men that reinforce inequality and
inequity in the household and the world of work.
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5. Encouragement to girls to study technical subjects, for example, through scholarships.
6. Increase the quality and quantity of gender-responsive vocational education and training institutions in
rural areas.
7. Support, design and deliver gender-responsive community-based training initiatives, including skills
training in employment-intensive infrastructure programmes, especially in areas lacking formal
educational institutions.
8. Complement vocational and technical training with numeracy and literacy training for the rural women
who need it. Women, particularly the most disadvantaged, may also need training on gender issues and
life skills, such as health and nutrition, confidence building, negotiation and leadership skills.
9. Combine technical and entrepreneurship training, for example, through community-based initiatives, as
many rural women make a living through self-employment in the informal economy.
10. Develop targeted strategies to allow rural women to access formal and non-formal vocational education
and training. These include:
a) Reducing financial barriers for rural women to access skills training (for example, through stipends),
considering issues of timing and location of training, and developing flexible curricula that fit rural
women’s needs.
b) Increasing the number of women trainers and agricultural extension workers, and providing gender
awareness training to trainers and other staff of training institutions (including on issues related to
sexual harassment and to gender stereotypes in households and in the world of work).
c) Providing infrastructure support and facilities, including accommodation, safe and female-friendly
transport facilities, childcare services and tool kits.
d) Developing curricula that address rural women’s different skill needs (for example, in the field of
climate change or sustainable agricultural practices). Take into account the different kinds of
indigenous knowledge and skills they have, and complement them with up-to-date knowledge and
technology.
e) Raising awareness among rural women and their families/communities, and training institutions, of
the benefit of training women with targeted programmes in non-traditional trades, in using new
technologies, and in traditionally male occupations.
f) Developing gender-sensitive delivery mechanisms that match rural women’s and men’s different
needs, such as mobile training units, extension schemes and distance learning using mobile phones,
radio and internet. Within those mechanisms, the most disadvantaged (such as women with
disabilities, from ethnic minorities, or associated with armed forces or ex-combatants) should be
guaranteed access to specifically designed trainings.
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