Computerized Vocational Training & Employable Skills

1. Computerized Vocational Training& Employable Skills Uncommon Opportunities: Roadmap for Employment, Food & Global Security November 21, 2004 The Mother’s Service Society Pondicherry, India

2. Employable Skills • 50% of firms in developing and industrialized countries report severe shortage of skilled workers. • India’s problem is not lack of employment opportunities but lack of employable skills. • Skills create employment and self-employment opportunities.

3. Vocational Skills Gap • Only 5% of India’s workforce (20-24 years) have vocational training compared with 28% in Mexico and 96% in Korea. • By 2010 major labour shortages will emerge in the industrialized nations forcing movement of both manufacturing & service jobs to wherever the skills are best. • Upgrading skills essential to tap global markets

4. Vocational Training in India • 4200 ITIs • 1,654 government run • 2,620 private • Courses offered • 43 engineering & 24 non-engineering trades • Capacity – 6.3 lakhs • State enterprise programmes – 1.7 lakh • Including agriculture & other – 20 lakh

5. Vocational Training Deficit

6. Three Models • Farm Schools in every revenue village • Vocational Schools • Computerized & Televised Vocational Training

7. Vocational Schools • Promote vocational institutes at block and district level • 5000 govt • 50,000 private • Conduct exams for every skill as for drivers licenses • Certify approved training centres, e.g. BPO • Provide scholarships & incentives for trainees

8. Computer-based learning is twice as fast @ half the cost • Multimedia • Interactive • Immediate Feedback • Self-paced learning • Eliminates need for trained teachers • Responds rapidly to changing skill needs • Uniform testing

9. Computerized Vocational Training • Establish 1 lakh CVT Institutes like internet cafes • 50,000 in private sector • 50,000 training centres at engineering and arts colleges, ITIs, polytechs, high schools, NGOs, etc. • Partnership with industry to develop multimedia training software • Provide training to a minumum of 4 million students per annum • Government certification of courses • Generate self-employment opportunities for 50,000 entrepreneurs

10. Multimedia vocational courses

11. Vocational Skills • 50% of firms in developing and industrialized countries report severe shortage of skilled workers. • India’s problem is not lack of employment opportunities but lack of employable skills. • Skills create employment and self-employment opportunities.

12. Vocational Skills Gap • Only 5% of India’s workforce (20-24 years) have vocational training compared with 28% in Mexico and 96% in Korea. • By 2010 major labour shortages will emerge in the industrialized nations forcing movement of both manufacturing & service jobs to wherever the skills are best. • Upgrading skills essential to tap global markets

13. Vocational Training in India • 4200 ITIs • 1,654 government run • 2,620 private • Courses offered • 43 engineering & 24 non-engineering trades • Capacity – 6.3 lakhs • State enterprise programmes – 1.7 lakh • Including agriculture & other – 20 lakh

14. Vocational Training Deficit

15. Three Models • Farm Schools in every revenue village • Vocational Schools • Computerized & Televised Vocational Training

16. Vocational Schools • Promote vocational institutes at block and district level • 5000 govt • 50,000 private • Conduct exams for every skill as for drivers licenses • Certify approved training centres, e.g. BPO • Provide scholarships & incentives for trainees

17. Computer-based learning is twice as fast @ half the cost • Multimedia • Interactive • Immediate Feedback • Self-paced learning • Eliminates need for trained teachers • Responds rapidly to changing skill needs • Uniform testing

18. Computerized Vocational Training • Establish 1 lakh CVT Institutes like internet cafes • 50,000 in private sector • 50,000 training centres at engineering and arts colleges, ITIs, polytechs, high schools, NGOs, etc. • Partnership with industry to develop multimedia training software • Provide training to a minumum of 4 million students per annum • Government certification of courses • Generate self-employment opportunities for 50,000 entrepreneurs

19. Multimedia vocational courses

20. CVT Job Shops • Privately owned, self-employment • Each centre with 1 to 10 computers • Stocked with a library of training software • Training material on CD-Rom format • Fees based on an hourly rate

21. CVT Job Shop: Assumptions • Three computers per Job Shop • 20 training programmes per Job Shop • Each computer utilized 300 hours per mo • Operating expenses for rent, two paid employees, phone, electricity may range from Rs 15,000 to 20,000 per month

22. CVT Job Shop: Economics • Capital investment Rs 1.5 lakh. • Cost of operations per computer hour = Rs 20 / hour. • Cost of amortising of computers and software over two years = Rs 14 per hour • Average cost of training = Rs 35 per hour • Average retail price of training = Rs 50 per hour • Net profit = Rs 15 per hour or Rs 1.5 lakhs / yr • 50 hours of computerized vocational training, equivalent to about 250 hours of classroom training, would cost the student only Rs 2500.

23. Training Software: Economics • Cost Rs 50 lakhs per course • Retail price Rs 1000 per set • Sale of 10,000 sets generates Rs 50 lakhs profit • Offer 50% government subsidy for development of approved courses

24. CVT Action Plan • Delivery CVT through all state-owned engineering colleges, ITIs, Polytechnics, liberal arts colleges, high schools, other institutions. • Provide financial assistance/ incentives under Central Government self-employment schemes to promote private training institutes. • Encourage financial institutions to provide loans to entrepreneurs. • Negotiate with computer software companies to develop a wide range of vocational training courses. • Recognized institutional authorities to certify course contents. • Finance bulk purchase of approved training software with 50% subsidy to minimize the cost of training. • Train entrepreneurs to set up/manage private institutes. • Provide scholarships to low income youth to cover training fees.

25. IT Incubator Business Parks • Computerised vocation training • Computerised tuitions institutes • Computerised language training • Software training • Video-conferencing services • High speed data transfer services • Web, graphic and animation design services • Computer repair and maintenance services • International Internet telephony • Computer hardware parts manufacturing and assembly • Customer and technical support call centres • Back office processing • Medical transcription • Digital photography, scanning and image processing • Internet research services • Accounting services • Computerized testing laboratories

26. Who creates enterprises? • Skilled experienced workers leaving existing jobs create enterprises • Machinists • taxi drivers • hotel servers • bus cleaners • Printers • tailors • Do entrepreneurial training programmes work?

27. Promoting Entrepreneurship • Extend bank credit & seed capital to employees with 5 years experience • Require training & certification for new enterprises to reduce failure rate • Existing entrepreneur to sign as guarantor • Insurance companies can ensure loans based on qualifications

28. Issues for Study • Natural job creation • How many jobs are being created? • In which sectors & fields? • By what process? • How can the natural process be magnified and accelerated? • How are rural migrants absorbed in the cities? • Occupational demand • Identify high growth occupational categories at all levels • Measure growth in pay/income levels by category • Emerging Activities • Identify emerging occupations in all sectors, • Farm managers & Soil technicians • Servicing for cell phones, ACs, computers, VCDs, etc. • Home delivery, floor cleaner, masseuse • Skills for national development • Compile a complete list of skills needed for India’s development to next higher level • Job creation in other countries • Study which job categories grew rapidly in US during a comparable period? • Efficacy of Entrepreneurial Development Programmes