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The human development index of any country shows how developed it is and how happy are its citizens. Financial empowerment and the standard of living of citizens are important indicators driving the trajectory of the index. For instance, India, despite its demographic dividend and vast resources, is lagging in the human development index by a considerable margin compared to the developed world. This is due to the fact that unemployment has become a serious concern among the youth driving many of them into the morass of poverty and disillusionment. As per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the urban employment rates in April, May, and June 2021 were 9.78%, 14.72%, and 10.08% respectively.
Gone are the days when hundreds used to get employed in big manufacturing firms running assembly line production setups. Today, automation and cost optimization measures have meant semi-skilled or unskilled people cannot get employment opportunities. The threshold of employability can only be crossed by people who are skilled in certain vocations, technologies, or activities. It is a fact that digitalization and globalization have brought about a significant shift in the nature of work. The lack of skills among the Indian workforce has resulted in high unemployability, so much so that around 53% of businesses in India are not able to hire suitable candidates. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there shall be a skill deficit of 29 million by 2030.
In an emerging economic landscape driven by digitization, the lack of skills, especially digital, is of serious concern. Estimates suggest that the lack of skills among aspiring candidates across industries leads to unemployment and a lack of productivity in business. To ensure the workforce retains its competitive edge and the gap between talent and unemployment is reduced, skill development training should be given a fillip. Also, the emerging trends in skill development should be taken cognizance of to meet the challenges of tomorrow. The below-mentioned segment discusses the likely trends in skill development to emerge.
Emerging trends in skill development
With the economy recovering post-COVID, a boom in the services sector is anticipated due to increased FDI inflows, especially to the IT sector. This calls for boosting the digitally skilled workforce in India by staggering numbers to bridge the IT skill gap and meet the emerging demand. The focus should shift towards upskilling and reskilling the existing resources within the industry. Also, the educated youth looking to join the workforce should be skilled in a wide range of jobs – web design, digital marketing, blogging, journalism, photography, and others.
# Including skill development in course curriculums: It is common knowledge that the Indian education system focuses more on the rote system of learning rather than teaching about the application of skills in the real world. One of the key aspects of the NEP 2020 framework is the integration between vocational training and higher education. The multi-disciplinary approach aims at achieving competency-based learning and enabling students passing out of colleges and universities to join the professional ranks.
# Focus on hybrid learning: People living in rural areas take a longer time to adapt to the dynamically changing world of business. So, to enhance the learning outcomes among them, it is important to align digital instructional resources with the traditional way of learning. For instance, Anudip Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 2007, runs digital literacy programmes for talented youth in marginalized areas using blended learning. They use digital resource materials and other audio-visual tools to impart skill development among the aspirational youth.
# Integration of higher education with industry: With industry 4.0 in the offing, the digital transformation of jobs is a foregone conclusion. The higher education sector should actively partner with the industry to implement work-oriented learning among students. For instance, there could be a provision for industrial training wherein the final year students can participate in industrial training and learn the much-needed skills to break into the technology landscape.
# Focus on soft skills: In the face of rapid technological changes, businesses are looking for candidates with certain soft skills to keep them competitive. These include communication skills, teamwork, empathy, critical thinking and problem solving, decision making, time management, stress management, and others. Any skill development training programme should incorporate soft skills training as well. For instance, Anudip runs a Futurepro programme to prepare a global workforce adept in a range of soft skills.
# Promoting entrepreneurship: It may not be possible to create employment opportunities for everyone and the focus should be on training job creators as well. Skill development programmes should focus on preparing entrepreneurs as well who can create jobs for others. Taking the example of Anudip once again, they run a programme called BEST (Building Entrepreneurs To Stop Human Trafficking) wherein the victims of trafficking are given digital education training to rehabilitate and empower them.
Conclusion
Both the formal and gig economy needs a highly-skilled workforce that can meet the challenges of tomorrow. Any skill development training worth its name should include courses that do justice to the job requirements of tomorrow. The above-mentioned emerging trends indicate how the business is going to evolve in the near future and why aspirational candidates should be skilled in technologies and paradigms that are likely to drive the world of tomorrow.
