India UK Round table on Skills Development Organized by Ministry of HRD and UKIERI Background India UK Round table on Skills Development was jointly organized by Ministry of HRD and UKIERI to bring together key stakeholders working on the agenda of Skills Development in India and the UK to discuss opportunities for collaboration and partnership through UKIERI. The roundtable was structured as a forum to share experiences and focus on specific areas of partnership with specific focus on those that can be taken forward under UKIERI. Both sides endorsed that under the aegis of the UKIERI programme both India and the UK should collaborate on strategic areas of importance. Both UK and India as a country are learning the various modalities of the skills development space and therefore there number of opportunities for both the countries to engage and build capacity. Programme 1430 1435 Welcome Address - Rob Lynes, Minister Culture Affairs, British Council Division, British High Commission 1435 1450 Inaugural address - Shri Kapil Sibal, Honourable Minister of Human Resource Development 1450 1505 India s Skills strategy and roadmap - Shri Narendra Jadhav, Member, Planning Commission 1505 1515 UK Skills Strategy and priorities - Ms Maddalaine Ansell, Head of International Knowledge and Innovation Unit, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills 1
Chair for the structured Discussions * India Shri Ashok Thakur, Special Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development * UK Ms Maddalaine Ansell, Head of International Knowledge and Innovation Unit, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills 1515 1615 Structured Discussion on - Employer Engagement (including Apprenticeships) India Lead Mr J P Rai Office of Advisor to Prime Minister, National Council on Skill Development UK Lead Ms Caroline Margaret Roberts UKCES; Ms Maureen Evans-Olsen - National Apprenticeships Service Centres of Vocational excellence India Lead Prof S. Parasuraman, TISS UK Lead Ms Jennifer Teulon Alliance of Sector Skills Councils with Ms Marilyn East, Department for Business Innovation and Skills National Vocational Education Qualification Framework India Lead Mr S S Mantha, AICTE UK Lead Mr John Yates - Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), & Manipal-City & Guilds FE Leadership and Professional Development India Lead Mr RCM Reddy- ILFS UK Lead Mr Martin Doel Association of Colleges with Mr John Yates, Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), & Manipal-City & Guilds Vocationalisation of secondary education India Lead Ms Radha Chauhan, Ministry of Human Resource Development UK Lead Ms Marilyn East - Department for Business, Innovation & Skills 1615 1625 Closing Remarks by Chair from India and the UK on the discussions 1625 1710 Q & A and open discussion all participants 1710-1725 Road map for Skills Development under UKIERI and formulation of the working group on Skills Development - Ms Maddalaine Ansell, Chair for UKIERI Board 2
1725 1730 Concluding Remarks - Ms Vibha Puri Das, Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development 1730 1735 Vote of Thanks - Ms Marilyn East, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills Key Discussion Points Inaugural address by Honourable Minister Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development In India only 2% of the workforce of the organized sector has some kind of formal training In the formal education system even if the gross enrolment ration is increased to 30% by 2020 that would result to 50 million kids going to college. Still it will be required to empower 160 million kids through skills who won t reach college To reach out to empower 160 mn youth it is imperative to impart skills without having to build brick and mortar institutions. Availability of faculty is another big challenge and especially so with the traditional institutes. It is critical to address the question that at what stage vocational education should be imparted to the school students so that they can easily move to polytechnics and university system High growth sectors should be identified both at the domestic and international level. Based on the findings, Industry should be engaged for setting up national occupational standards which will result in imparting demand driven skills training. Through National Skill Development Corporation, sector skill councils are being set up to work in sync with industry and the academia to determine what the occupational standard should be with reference to a particular skill. National vocational qualifications framework designed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development gives flexibility to students for multiple entry and exit options. Students can decide to move from academic to vocation and vice versa. NVEQF pilot project is being implemented in 2 states viz., Haryana and West Bengal Keeping the growth chart of the economy as a reference point, sectors of importance are infrastructure, automobile, electronics and health. Electronics as a sector is the fall out of the automobile sector. Certification and Assessment are one of the key drivers leading to quality assurance and enhanced employability which would result in industry engagement. Certification and assessment as a procedure and as an outcome are key aspects for collaboration With the daunting numbers looming large and to reap the demographic dividend of the country, training providers need to look at vocationalisation of education through ICT. In the 21 st century ICT as a learning model is best fit to bridge the gap between the two countries and also address the issue of scalability. 3
India s Skills Strategy and Roadmap Shri Narendra Jadhav, Member, Planning Commission Every year approximately 12.8 million people enter the labour force and the total available training capacity has only increased from 3.1 to 4.9 mn. Even today there is a skill gap of approx 8 million every year. It is evident from the data that skilled development is critical and holds a big challenge for promoting inclusive growth, ensuring livelihood and for harnessing demographic dividend As of today the total global skills shortage is about 67 million As per the policy strategy all 35 states have their own state level skill development mission As a policy, strategy is to bring about legislative changes in the apprenticeship program and design and introduce the National Qualification Framework NVEQF has been developed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and is being developed and piloted in 2 states and at the same time Ministry of labour & Employment is designing the NVQF. As a coordinated effort both the frameworks will be reconciled to generate National Qualification Framework (NQF) which will allow horizontal mobility and as well as vertical movement and multiple entry and multiple exit 1500 new industrial training institutes are going to be created under the PPP mode preferably in un-serviced blocks of the country. State govt. in this case will provide land with basic infrastructure such as electricity, road communication etc free of cost while the central govt will participate in terms of providing capital support in the form of viability gap funding while the private sector will take a lead role in establishments of these institutes There is a huge gap between the demand and supply of trainers. To mitigate the problem of trainers Ministry of Labour & Employment has formulated a scheme to establish 15 Advanced Training Institutes (ATIs) in the PPP mode. 12 regional vocational training institutes are also being established Another important initiative taken by the government is of setting up of Sector Skills Councils to encourage industry participation. UK Skills Strategy and Priorities Ms Maddalaine Ansell, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills UK government is absolutely convinced that developing the skills sector is essential for a strong economy. UK already has a system which provides further education to millions of young people and adults to help them get into work. UK skills development policy also ensures to engage employers and provide training for progression in the workplace One of the flagship programmes UK has is the apprenticeship programme which combines the academic learning and key skills with employment One of the challenges for UK is to design a vocational system that enables people to move from vocational to academic learning and back again. UK aims to o give more flexibility to further education colleges so that they are more responsive to learners 4
o o o restore relationship between the skill providers and employers empower students improved quality of teachers Chair for Structured discussion * India Shri Ashok Thakur, Special Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development * UK Ms Maddalaine Ansell, Head of International Knowledge and Innovation Unit, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills Employer Engagement (including Apprenticeships) and Centres of Vocational Education J P Rai, Office of Advisor to Prime Minister, National Council on Skill Development 14% of India s work force is in the organized sector and 86% is in the informal/unorganized sector therefore large part of the employer engagement has to be focussed at informal/unorganized sector Organizations are coming forward to adopt ITI as they have started to realize the shortage of skilled manpower. Formalised structured skills training has become a part of corporate planning than as being only a part of the corporate social responsibility. Sector Skill Councils are the fulcurum on which the National agenda of skills development will revolve. It will be important to explore if the under used government systems/bodies like Panchayti Raj at the village level can be engaged through employers to build capacities in the informal sector Prof S Parasuraman, Tata Institute of Social Sciences TISS is working on 6 industry and 3 social verticals and has developed a curriculum frame work where two years of certification will lead to diploma. Curriculum developed will be accredited by the industry body and the assessments frame work is being developed with sector experts Government and non governments technical training institutions and Universities are being approached to provide training opportunities To create training opportunities simulation models are being created and trainers are being resourced from existing technical training institutes and from the industry. Industry engagement is one of the method to bring best practitioners as trainers and also build link with a number of industries across the country It is critical to mobilise youth for imparting skills training and bringing together industries and technical training institutions to facilitate this process Ms Caroline Margaret Roberts UKCES; Ms Maureen Evans-Olsen National Apprenticeships Service; Ms Jennifer Teulon Alliance of Sector Skills Councils UK commission is at the heart of the paradigm shift of moving from employer engagement to employer ownership. Employers are required to own skills problems and have skill ownership. 5
National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) organization was established in 2009 to create higher level of apprenticeship with govt funding of 25 million pounds In the UK there is a huge number of small and micro businesses and for bringing them in the mainstream, models are being worked out for engaging these small micro employers with large employers As a sustainability model employers working with employees have the opportunity to design and manage their own training solutions to meet UK ambition Employers have been given subsidies to join government initiatives when sustainable change requires employers to create their own initiatives, encouraged by government Grant funding should flow directly through responsible employers giving them greater purchasing power in the skills market The balance of public expenditure should move from grants to employer investments. Loans are structured to create incentives for employers to invest more in training outcomes NAS support the development of high level of apprenticeships and provide clear pathway into higher education. The apprenticeship program is available to all ages from 16 to 66 National Vocational Education Qualification Framework Mr S S Mantha, AICTE Skills Development is much needed in higher education and creation of multiple pathways of entry and exit from vocational to academics and vice versa. Multiple entry and exit pathways should also lead to a diploma or a degree at different certification levels. Each certification level is independent in itself and also should be a building block for subsequent certification levels Skills attained at a certain certification level should be able to get an appropriate job role and should have an option open to get into the education system whenever he/she so desires. In order to provide flexibility to the learners skills training and academic training is being entwined for multiple pathways and thus create multiple entry and exit points. Localized approach is being adopted for maximum impact and local skills training requirements. Factors which are being taken into consideration for creating this model are subsidized fee structure, corporate social responsibility initiatives of the industry, centrally administered training of trainers, placement assistance, path ways of international progression and recognition to prior learning Ms Anshu Vaish, MHRD NVEQF frame work is designed to enable and empower both skill providers and learners. Mechanism within the NVEQF framework has been built to recognise and provide equivalence to people who possess high level skills within the communities. For recognition of prior learning, two levels have been designed, level I is equal or equated to class five of formal schooling and level II is equated to class 8 th of formal schooling. This equivalence could be assessed and certified by open school. 6
Recognition of prior learning will help in bringing the informal sector into the mainstream and will also bring in an element of self- esteem to traditional artisans. Recognition of prior learning recognized as per the NVEQF framework would provide the skilled worker an option of getting the certificate and returning to the place of work or entering the further/higher education system. Mr John Yates - Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), & Manipal-City & Guilds Skills developments can take place across skill frame work by creating clear pathways. Equivalence and parity of credits amongst academic and vocational training UK has valuable experience and recent exposure of developing international skills and UK is also aware of the positives and pitfalls while developing the skills system. Sector Skills Councils are responsible for developing the labour market system and occupational standards. Awarding bodies are responsible for assessment and certification. India is aiming to combine the role of SSCs and awarding bodies. UK has an experience about the functioning of both SSC s and the awarding bodies and thus, can give great value to India. UK frame work enables all participants in the system respond quickly to employer needs and provide better long term qualifications rather than offer short courses. Also, at the same time provide commonalities to allow portability of qualification Key area of partnership is to have a system to system approach which enables the portability and equivalence of qualification between UK and India FE Leadership and Professional Development Mr RCM Reddy, IL&FS India and UK need to elevate the relationship from being client and service provider to a partner relationship. There is a need to co invest and co design initiatives Capacity building and quality management with a particular focus on standards, assessment, certification, training of trainers through sector skills council UK has some excellent framework on vocationalisation of education with a special focus on secondary education and India can learn from UK s experience. India and UK should partner and work on a cost sharing basis to set up some kind of model on how UK s best practices can help in work force development. Formation of skill clusters - one from UK and one from India During the JETCO roundtable discussions four sectors mutually identified to partner by India and the UK stakeholders are creative studies, hospitality, health care and supply chain logistics Further education leadership development programme is an important area of mutual collaboration and development Efforts of various UK and Indian bodies should be aligned and they should complement each other for achieving a unified goal 7
Mr Martin Doel, Association of College Mr John Yates, Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), & Manipal-City & Guilds Teacher development & Employability are hugely important for successful learning outcomes, placement of potential learners and for increasing efficiency in the system UK has been effectively using learning technologies like online learning management system and e-learning, which can be deployed very effectively and with greater level of consistency and India can look forward to gain these expertises from the UK. Vocationalisation of secondary education Ms Radha Chauhan, Ministry of Human Resource Development India is working towards development of the competency based modules Instead of segregating the vocational education India is following the integrated approach India is aiming to progress towards employer engagement and employer ownership. Taking clues and learning from the UK, Industry employers should not only engage in the whole process of vocationalisation and employability but they should have complete ownership. Government is working towards strengthening the open school system as this will help to address the issue of accessibility and also help optimize technology benefits NVEQF is a semester and credit based system which employs portability and mobility Ms Marilyn East - Department for Business, Innovation & Skills UK has a huge problem of numeracy and literacy skills hence more focus is being paid to maths and Science at the school level Schools have less specialised vocational education Performance management of schools is assessed on not more than 20% of the time on vocational education Open Discussion India should be careful and not form too many sector skills councils as there is an inter relationships and overlap between sectors especially when India is trying to achieve something strategic Quality assurance is one area where focus is required and partnerships can be built. UK awarding bodies have an expertise on certification and assessment Sector skill councils, quality assurance, assessment and certification are the areas of collaboration for India and UK. UKERI can help foster partnerships on best practices of the UK schools like specialist schools and the university technical colleges. Indian and UK schools from classes 9th to 12th can probably have a twining arrangement. Alternatively, British Industries could adopt a few schools, so that these could be developed as the model schools for the rest of country Many British organizations want to get involved in the up gradation of the ITI s 8
Large part of the skills challenge can be met through high quality software development. IT industry involvement in software development for skills programs will be a big boost, software thus developed can be accessed by students in engineering colleges, Polytechnics, Industry and ITIs. Faculty are to be trained for increasing employability. It may be possible to start a program under the aegis of industry in India similar to Wipro TEN X program. TEN X programme is aimed to equip 10000 faculty for skill development in different sectors of the economy. We should work under UKIERI for this program be taken forward as we identify the skills. employer engagement, employer participation and ownership are extremely important to develop leadership Opportunities and challenges Skill formation in India has to be mainstreamed in the formal education system right from class X onwards, skill creation outside the formal education needs coordinated action and innovative approach. A three-tier institutional structure lays down a solid foundation for a skills ecosystem in the country. An important tier of the Coordinated Action Plan for Skill Development, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has made significant progress and bulk of such skill formation targeted particularly at the large unorganized sector will come through NSDC interventions and initiatives at the State level There is a need for concerted action in several key areas in order to ensure that skill formation takes place in a demand driven manner Curriculum for skill development has to be reoriented on a continuing basis to meet the demands of the employers/industry and align it with the available selfemployment opportunities. Accreditation and certification system has to be improved. Accreditation of certification processes should be done by independent, specialised agencies with certification left to the institutions A sectoral approach is required for the purpose with special emphasis on those sectors that have high employment potential. National Occupational Standards should be set by the industry-led sector skill councils. Skill Development Centres to be established in existing education and training institutions. Apprenticeship training as another mode for on-job training has to be remodelled to make it more effective and up-scaled significantly Vocational education at the school level and vocational training through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Industrial Training Centres (ITCs) need significant expansion and overhaul. There is an urgent need to revisit the scheme for up gradation of government ITIs as Centres of Excellence through PPP mode Learning pathways integrated between school and higher education through National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVeQF) with multiple entry and exit points for providing training facility in un serviced blocks, central government is working in partnership with state government and industry to set of training institutes under the Public-Private Partnerships mode. Partnership is being worked out in areas like financing, service delivery, and provision of workspaces and training of trainers 9
High growth Sectors infrastructure, creative studies, hospitality, healthcare, supply chain logistics India to progress towards Employer engagement and employer ownership and develop leadership Further education leadership development programme to be developed for startup company CEOs and institutional heads Action Points for UKIERI/ Roadmap for skills development under UKIERI Set up a working group to bring together closer interactions for developing areas of future engagement Initiate a Further Education Leadership Development Programme Support training of trainers o through ICT and online training o Training arrangements through UK companies & Indian schools Focus on Assessment & certification, Quality Assurance, Vocationalisation of education specifically school education Help develop centres of excellence ref TISS model Support Skill Clusters Support international mobility through portability of qualifications Develop qualification framework in consultation and engagement with industry leading to employer engagement and employer ownership 10