India has the potential to become global supplier of skilled workforce . IISCs can do it by training the youth with skills in demand in the West.
Unemployment is a multi-faceted problem. A major challenge that currently our unemployed youth face is the mismatch between their skills and the needs of job providers. There are many jobs available on different platforms but there is no real way to establish the quality of job roles. Our technical institutes and universities do not synchronize their skill courses with overseas institutes and employers. Without matching global skill parameters, youths are being forced to do odd jobs abroad for survival. So India International Skill Centres (IISCs) – aimed at imparting international standard skill training to youth and enhancing overseas opportunities for them – have the potential to transform our country into the skill capital of the world.
In the Union Budget of 2023-24, Finance Minister and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have announced the opening of 30 IISCs to bridge the global shortage of workforce in the coming years by reaping the demographic dividend of the young Indian workforce. These centers will provide skill training and certification benchmarked by international standards. IISCs will also have a wide network of partner organizations and overseas recruiters to facilitate the supply of skilled and certified workforce in other countries.
These partnering organizations will work with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for aggregating demand from overseas markets. The centers will have services such as mobilization, counseling, skill training, pre-departure orientation, foreign language training, placement and immigration, and post-placement support. India has signed memorandums of understanding in the field of apprenticeship and skill training with Germany, Belarus, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Japan, and Qatar.
As a pilot project in 2018, 14 IISCs were likely to be set up across India through the NSDC including one at Bathinda in Punjab but not even a single center did come up till March 2022. In April 2022, the country’s first Skill India International Centre was inaugurated by Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in his home state Odisha. Indeed, IISCs should be a pan-India institution. Now after the announcement made in the Union Budget, the NSDC must take a call to set up 30 IISCs including one Punjab, in a public-private partnership to implement Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY) for youth seeking global mobility for jobs. Unfortunately, there is a mismatch between the young skills and their desire to get better placements in countries like Canada, the US, and Australia. Wacky commitments by the immigration companies to encourage outbound migration of youth without required skills are nothing but a cruel joke, which must be avoided and one should accept the challenge of unprecedented underemployment. Developing an overseas placement ecosystem should be prioritized and should be put within a legal framework so that our youths and their families are not cheated.
The need of the hour is to explore and ensure how well our youths can be equipped with skills of international standards before they apply for work permits. It will not only help them become a part of the decent workforce abroad but will also open multiple avenues for them. From Punjab,
maximum migration takes place every year. It has a very widespread Diaspora known for its hard work and entrepreneurship. Punjabis have established themselves in many countries of the world. According to the Ministry of External Affair, around seven lakh people from Punjab left the country for employment in the last six years to fulfill their dreams of lucrative jobs.
Government jobs are limited in number in comparison to the growing demand for gainful employment. At present, the low business sentiment, growing inequalities, weak demand, and slow economic recovery are posing serious hurdles to the Indian job market. NSDC along with Ernst & Young (EY) has conducted the ‘Global Skill Gap Study.’ The study showcases an in-depth analysis of the global workforce markets with a prime focus on leveraging the opportunities to the benefit of the Indian workforce.
The study highlighted that several nations would face workforce shortages in the foreseeable future and mapped out the corresponding opportunities that these shortages present for the Indian workforce. To tap these overseas opportunities for jobs of truck drivers, construction workers, nurses, wellness professionals, IT professionals, chefs, etc., the right skilling of youth should undoubtedly be a high priority.
Unfortunately, the government initiatives to improve or impart skills to our youths have not been very successful in the past. This hints at a systemic problem that affects the talent ecosystem. It is a common dilemma for many youths today. They have a strong desire to do better in their lives but they cannot get jobs for want of skills. India International Skill Centres and placement cells in every district of the states to facilitate the migration of youth through legal ways should be given a top priority. The States District Bureaus of Employment and Enterprise (SDBEEs) should be made more robust to handle the task. If such concerted efforts are made to create an ecosystem for overseas placement, things will change positively.
(The writer is a training partner with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Network Member, India International Skills Centres, an initiative of GoI. The views are personal.)
