Technical education plays a vital role in human resource development of the country
By Prof S S Mantha
Chairman, AICTE | www.aicte-india.org
Skill development in students is extremely important for a growing economy such as ours. Every student who goes through higher education will be well served if he or she acquires additional skills while completing their studies. Skills lead to better employment opportunities. On the other hand, skills acquired by a student who does not go through formal education would provide a means of self employment and also a chance for employment in the formal sector.
India has several models in place for promoting vocational education. We do use many good practises in imparting such education, but the quality needs to be further improved. AICTE is currently in process of developing a bridge between competence based skill modules and basic content modules. This is being done at both school and the university level, so that a child can choose a mode of education that is interesting to pursue.
Technical education plays a vital role in human resource development of the country. It creates skilled manpower, enhances industrial productivity and improves the quality of life. To achieve the goals of a knowledge economy, India needs a flexible education system geared to impart skills that lead to employability. Finding workers who are employable is a real problem. Employers need reliable, responsible workers who can solve problems and who have the social skills and attitudes to work together with other workers.
Employability centres on certain basic skills, which are necessary for getting, keeping, and doing well on a job. These are the skills, attitudes and actions that enable workers to get along with their fellow workers and supervisors and to make sound, critical decisions. Unlike occupational or technical skills, employability skills are generic in nature rather than job specific and cut across all industry types, business sizes, and job levels from the entry-level worker to the senior-most position.
Our examination system often ends up bringing more mediocrity into a system. The industry would obviously employ the best of the lot, but the examination system often fails to project the best. This needs to change. The employment sector must be profiled to provide information on job opportunities in various sectors in terms of numbers and the projected growth. There is also a need to identify potential employers.
