Times are changing and so is the job market. Skilling India has now become the way to go. Imagine being that teammate who does the given work in half the time required and produces brilliant results. The job market now will be looking for you!
Employers give importance to skilled youth, which means they prefer having people who have learned on-the-job skills along with the educational qualification. So, while education qualifications will be the first entry path to the job market, it will be the skills that will make you more attractive.
These skills will improve your thinking abilities, help you understand the core tasks better, acquire relevant information quickly, communicate better, manage your time easily and eventually earn a respectable living. You will also find it very easy to be comfortable in new workplaces or any change in the workplace. A 2017 report by World Economic Forum, an international organisation said that India right now has more than 65 percent of people who have reached the working age which is 15 years and above. This age group is expected to grow even more and by the time we reach 2022, we will have the world’s youngest population. That is 3 years from now! This will mean that the competition to get a job will become tougher.
What will set you apart from the rest is your knowledge of soft skills. Some of the main soft skills include –
- Ability of spoken English and communication,
- Ability to work in a team or lead the team in a positive manner,
- Problem solving skills (without losing your temper!),
- Ability to work under pressure,
- Efficient time management,
- IT and computer skills for easy online work management and in understanding tricky numbers in easier ways through charts and graphs in today’s digital economy.
Skilling youth today will mean learning the combination of both domain specific skills and soft skills. This will give you the advantage of having a stronger job ability, a potential to ask for a higher pay, easy and flexible working attitude when challenges are thrown at you.
Tech Mahindra Foundation – Strengthening the skill-set for Skilling India
Tech Mahindra Foundation has recognised the need for skilling youth and improve their employment opportunities. With its Skills for Market Training (SMART) flagship employability programme, Tech Mahindra Foundation aims at training and improving skill development.
As you might be aware, the Foundation runs SMART Academies for Healthcare and Digital Technologies with a vision to create world-class skilled professionals. Currently टेक महिंद्रा फाउंडेशन has SMART academies for healthcare in New Delhi, मोहाली तथा मुंबई and one upcoming academy in Bhubaneshwar. These academies focus on skilling youth in both theory and practice, along with IT and soft skills. These include paramedical skills such as Medical Laboratory Technology,X-Ray and Imaging Technology, Cardiac Technology,Home Health Aide, etc. After the course is over, the academy also helps students with job opportunities in paramedical or allied health professions with different hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and laboratories. For skill building courses in digital technologies, Tech Mahindra Foundation right now has a SMART academy for digital technologies in Vishakhapatnam and will soon open another academy in Hyderabad. The training modules include Graphic and Web Designing, 2-D Animation, Web Development amongst others. You could check out all the courses here.
Other initiatives taken to Skill India
Tech Mahindra Foundation is also dedicated to uplifting the job and future opportunities for persons with disabilities and help them lead dignified lives. While the skill knowledge taught is the same as what is taught otherwise, the curriculum is specially designed in well-equipped classrooms as the Foundation recognises the special needs of people with disabilities and empowers them equally. This is done through SMART+ (Skills-for Market Training for Persons with Disabilities).
Skill India – Government of India Initiatives for Skill Development
Do you know that the Government of India has already framed policies for skilling and promoting entrepreneurship? The National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015 has been developed to provide a framework for skilling initiatives which will not only work on skill development but will do so keeping in mind the improvement in your employability and productivity.
NITI Aayog has helped us to understand what exactly it is that the government aims to do. According to a 2018 report they have said that importance will be given to equal access for individuals to skilling and employment opportunities, there will be quality assurance, relevance of the different skills taught, and find cost-effective ways to finance the skill development. Skilling India by keeping these pointers in mind will help to bring out the maximum potential of youth power.
Our government is doing this to reduce the huge skill gap that affects our growing economy. By creating platforms that help skill development, the country will also invest in individuals who can then become a part of the working force and improve the economic status of the country. In fact, government’s recent skill gap calculations have said that by 2022, another 109 million or so skilled workers will be needed in the 24 important sectors of the economy. That’s a huge number and new opportunities for the youth.
This is the opportunity that Tech Mahindra Foundation is helping the young professionals, women and disabled people achieve.
Build skills, improve employability and let yourselves grow to your maximum potential!
References
[i]Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/india-workforce-skills-training/
[ii]The World Bank 2017, Skilling India, June 23,
[iii]Retrieved from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/06/23/skilling-india
