A large majority of courses taught in our schools and universities focus more attention on generic knowledge developmentwhich is not enough for a young student to start his/her career and succeed in it. There is a need for incorporating vocational qualification that have knowledge and skill components related to specific career tracks in traditional school and colleges so that the student can position himself best to grab the new opportunities being created. This is the need of the hour to solve a unique problem wherein on one hand there is high growth with strong demand for skilled labour in India and on the other hand there is a large pool of labour, majority of which is unemployable due to absence of relevant and adequate skills.
Why Vocational Skills?
Vocational Skills Training can turn around this situation and empower this unskilled pool of youth with a better future and career prospects. Until some years earlier, ITIs represented vocational training in India. The country went on a high growth path, which has opened up career opportunities in various new sectors. These industries need trained manpower to cater to their growth and their requirements are beyond the capabilities of a formal ITI system. Some of these main segments are Retail, Banking & Financial Services, Hospitality, Security, Hair & Beauty Care,English Learning etc.
Many private Vocational Training Centres of national and international repute offers a wide range of courses that enables the student with industry and job specific skills required by the employers. This guarantees the student not just a salaried job, but an entry point to a career in some of the fastest growing industry sectors in India. With increasing globalisation and the demand for professionally trained skilled manpower on the rise, the Vocational Training Centres provides the right blend of new courses that opens up new career opportunities.
Opportunities
India’s fast economic recovery and overall development has opened up an unprecedented number of job opportunities in services sectors. Taking the retail sector as an example, the Retailers Association of India estimates that 2 million people will be required in the next two years. Even in the current size the industry is facing a huge manpower shortage only due to low quality of skilled labour available. Sectors such as BFSI, Hospitality and Security Management require very specialized trade knowledge related to the industry as well as good soft-skills such as customer relations, English language communication and personal effectiveness skill-sets. The best Vocational Training Centers offer a mix of courses which help students learn both the specific industry related functional skills as well as the soft skills. The courses equip the students with skill sets fine-tuned to industry/job requirements which enable them to grab the best jobs in shortest possible time.
What you need to do?
To acquire the skill set for that career of a lifetime, the student does not need to necessarily invest years! The best quality vocational courses will take only 3 months of training after which the student has a high chance of getting placement with leaders in the industry he/she has been trained in. For example, after an entry level course in retail the student can get a job as a Customer Service Associate in leading retail chains such as Shoppers Stop, Reliance etc or upon completing a Front Office certification as Steward/Front Office Assistant in a star hotel chain. The training not only helps students get a job, but also give the needed skills for them to adjust to the working environment and do well in the same. Most vocational training centers offer a range of programs that match the needs of both graduates and even those with just a school certificate to build a productive career.
The best training courses also have multiple levels, which imbibe qualities that enable a student to pursue a career instead of just getting a job. An entry level course can be followed up after a couple of years of work experience with a supervisory and thereafter a managerial level qualification that can help a Customer Service Associate move up the ladder to be a Floor Supervisor or Store Manager and the Front Office Assistant to get promoted as a Front Office Manager in 5 to 8 years, with substantial increases in responsibility and compensation. Vocational courses are thus not just for the fresh out-of-college students; those who are currently working in the industry can also study to improve their performance with supervisory and managerial qualifications to gain promotions which would not otherwise be possible without an MBA or a graduation.
The need of the hour is not just a broad based school or college education, but industry specific domain knowledge and skill. Even after a three year graduation, the youth often has to spend considerable amount of time job hunting, which becomes very frustrating. Vocational courses offer you a fast-track education that assures a job placement and growth in the workplace. Thus the student gets a job faster, is able to support &provide for his family and self, becoming a responsible citizen of the society instead of an unproductive burden. Many developed and developing countries like UK, Korea & Chile have successfully used the vocational training sector to provide employment for their youth. It is time this form of job centered and skills based vocational education is tapped by Indian society to unleash the productive power of youth in the country.
About the Author:
The article has been contributed by IndiaSkills, India’s leading skills training & certification body. IndiaSkills offers vocational training courses, banking and finance courses, spoken english courses, beautician courses et, AC refrigeration, Security, English, Workplace skills, personality development and beauty. For course details contact IndiaSkills@18002666111 or mail to learnerquery@indiaskills.com
Articles Source: Vocational Education empowering Youth For Career Growth