Government of India, along with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is organizing a National Conference on "Technical Vocational Education, Training and Skills Development: A Roadmap for Empowerment" on 17–18 December, 2008 in New Delhi. India's first portal on Employability Development for youth – EmployabilityUniverse.com – presents the highlights from the conference.
Speaking on the occasion on December 17, Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh said, "Skill development at the grass root level is key for India's progress. We have the infrastructure necessary, but we have to start making it work. This conference is an important milestone towards this goal."
Dr R A Yadav, Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) said, "Technical Vocational Education & Training and Skills Development is one of the most crucial components of human resource development having the potential for adding value to products and services thereby improving the quality of life of the people. It has been realized that with the rapidly changing and increasingly sophisticated economies and technology, more needs to be done in the field of vocational education & training and skills development, to educate and train people for employment and entrepreneurship. Further, the need has also been felt to improve standards of vocational education and skills development to ensure that those entering the work force have requisite skills in the broadest sense, are adaptable to new skills, are multi skilled and have good communication skills."
He added, "Vocational education carries with it the historical baggage of being mostly associated with school dropouts and academically underperformers, a provider of cheap labour and entry level job opportunities. However, we must also be conscious of the fact that many developed countries have progressed industrially on the solid foundation of a very strong skilled workforce. These advanced countries have well established Vocational Education and Training Systems involving large scale participation by the private sector. It is our endeavor to improve our own Vocational Training System by drawing upon the experience of these countries."
He also said that this Indian education and training system needs to introspect, brainstorm, discuss and consult on various pertinent issues such as Public & Private Initiatives, strategies and models for enhancing technical vocational education and skills development, access, equity, inclusiveness, affordability and relevance with quality in Vocational Education & Training and Skills Development. "We can arrive at a consensus on national strategies only by a process of open dialogue. With this background, AICTE is organizing this National Conference".
Mr RP Agarwal, Secretary, Dept of Higher Education, said, "Skill development is very high on the national agenda. Eleventh Five Year plan and National Skill Development Mission bear it out. We need to make India's youth employable so that they and the industry benefit."
Among those present on the occasion included Vice Chancellors of Technical Universities/Deemed Universities, Director of premier Technical Education institutes including IITs, NITs, IIMs, lilTs and NITTTRs, persons from academia and industry and Secretaries dealing with Technical Education and Directors of Technical Education of the State Govts/UTs.
Addressing the conference, Ashok Thakur, Additional Secretary, Ministry of HRD, Govt of India, said, "Skills development task for the nation has been like a monster which we know exists but we are unable to measure it and pin him down. Now is the time to meet the challenge of skill development at a national scale."
