In the knowledge based Indian economy of tomorrow, the one enabler is going to be vocational education training (VET). But enrolment for VET here stands at merely 2 per cent, according to a recent paper by industry chamber Assocham.The study recommends that there is a need to create dedicated institutions for imparting VET. On the pattern of University Grant Commission, there should be a central body for VET. The Knowledge Commission has also recommended placing vocational education entirely under ministry of HRD and devising higher delivery modules for VET.The chamber’s paper on VET, points out that while India has only 5,100 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and 1,745 polytechnics, while China boasts of 500,000 VET institutes. India, particularly its metros and sub-urban segment, has scarcity of trained plumbers, carpenters, motor mechanics which amounts to Rs 100 crore drain to the economy.Compared to US where students can choose from 1,500 VET programmes, students are offered only 171 trades and skills programmes in India. No vocational training is offered at secondary levels in India whereas in Germany, all schools are required to offer vocational education.State governments have 40 million educated unemployed on their musters even as domestic industry is experiencing severe shortages of skilled personnel. These 40 million youth are barely functional literates, unskilled in any trade or vocation.About 98 per cent of 11 million students in higher education are enrolled in universities and colleges and out these 72 per cent are studying social sciences. Majority of graduates are not trained in any skill or vocation. Only 2 per cent of school leavers opt for vocational training, which is way below international and industry standard.Nearly 300 million young men and women in the age group of 18-50 years are not employable, simply because they don’t have any marketable skills. Around the world there are nearly 2,945 VET courses, which breaks up into 15,000 detailed modules. About 153 such courses are recognised so far in India.In Germany 65 per cent of the work force is VET qualified, in US, EU and China it’s between 75-80 per cent, while in Austria it is as high as 80 per cent. At 2 per cent, clearly, India has a long way to go.
