Leadership Led Training & Development
A vital component of successful leadership entails planning and development of employee training programmes catered to boost skills and keep abreast of industry changes.
Entrepreneurship has received a shot in the arm through initiatives such as Skill India and Startup India. Skills required to become a successful entrepreneur can now be gained through sector specific incubators led by industry or academic institutions. Many organisations also face the challenges of moving from a legacy manufacturing industry to a service-oriented organisation. This throws up an opportunity to re-skill employees to make that shift. As more and more organisations adopt digitalisation in the workplace and deal with the challenges and opportunities of Industry 4.0 senior leadership must recognise the importance of employee training to address skill shortages. Skilling must move from being an ancillary function to a core function of an organisation to stay ahead of the curve. Read what senior leaders from industry had to say about the importance and direction of skilling at the 4th HREA 2018.
Earning While Learning
The Ideal Entrepreneurs Forum (IEF) in partnership with the National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NI-MSME) held an awareness programme on the ‘Seekho-Aur-Kamao’ (Earn While You Learn) scheme, a central government skill development initiative for minorities at Chatta Bazar, Hyderabad. The scheme, part of the Skill India initiative, under the Union Ministry of Minority Welfare, offers 12 free courses to candidates who have completed 10th Grade or SSC.
Course offered include Apparel, Made-up & Home Furnishing, Beauty & Wellness, CNS Operator, Automotive, Entrepreneurship, Tourism & Hospitality, Food Processing, IT, CCTVA & DTH installation, Media & Entertainment, and Logistics.
At a time when the country faces a severe skills shortage, and with a large section of India’s minority population dependent on self-employment, such schemes are a step in the right direction to skill and upskill underrepresented sections of society in the country’s formal workforce. For instance, the Muslim community represents the lowest share of the country’s labour force, around 33 percent, compared with the national average of 40 percent. Buddhists and Jains come in at 36 percent each.
Additionally, women empowerment among minority communities through skilling and education can make a significant economic difference. Women’s participation in the workforce is a mere 15 percent for Muslims and Sikhs, dropping to 12 percent among Jains. Christian women make up 31 percent of women in the workforce, with Hindu women making up 27 percent.
Also read: Are Apprenticeships and Vocational Training Equal Opportunity Providers?
CICU Joins Hands with Punjab Skill Development Mission
The Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (CICU) has been roped in as the skill development partner under the Punjab Skill Development Mission.
A CICU established skill development centre at its Gill Road office, Ludhiana, imparts training programmes to the unemployed and underemployed youth of Punjab to create a skilled workforce and close the gulf between academia and industry. This CICU centre has now been upgraded as a training partner for various skill development government schemes in Punjab.
‘This will boost the productivity of the country by enabling youth acquire high-quality skill training across a range of sectors. It will also bring a paradigm shift from input-based skill training to outcome-based training, at a much faster pace without compromising quality parameters,’ said CICU President Upkar Singh.
Under the programme, CICU imparts free of cost training to unemployed youth in job roles such as documentation assistant, banking and accounting. Assessment and certification is carried out by the government.
IGNOU Skills Based Health Programmes
Four new courses are being introduced by the IGNOU’s School of Health Sciences (SOHS) in a blended learning approach comprising of a 30 hours theoretical component at study centres and 80 hours of hands-on practical training at medical colleges. Additionally, trainees will be posted for a month in smaller hospitals for more realistic training in a hospital setting. The aim of these skills based health programmes is to produce trained healthcare personnel through a special purpose Skills Training Cell which will also design, execute and certify skills based health training in the country.
‘The programmes will be implemented through a nation-wide support services frame-work. A supervision and monitoring network at State and District level is being created in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), IGNOU and other institutions as identified by MoHFW. An MOU has already been signed between IGNOU and MoHFW to develop and launch these programmes’ reported Prof. T.K. Jena of SOHS, IGNOU.
One of the courses which will be offered is that of a General Duty Assistant (GDA) which is a short duration non-clinical skill acquisition program, where trainees are taught about assistive devices, sample handing, preparing a patient care unit, maintenance of medical equipment, changing of bed linen and infection control, health & safety, bio medical waste management, grooming and general hygiene of patients, among others. The GDA course has a clear progression path where candidates can aspire to move into other job roles such as Home Health Aide, Nursing Aides, or even vertical progression into roles such as GDA Supervisor, Floor Supervisor etc. after gaining the necessary experience. This six month GDA course is being planned on a growing demand for such skills as every healthcare setting big or small requires the services of GDAs to perform useful non-clinical activities.
Green Waste Management Training
An Entrepreneurship Development Programme was started in Jamshedpur by the Relearn Foundation and the National Research Development Corporation, under the Skill India Scheme for Empowerment of Youth in North East and Rural Areas. Spanning ten days, the training will be imparted to persons between the ages of 21 to 45 years from across the country on waste management in rural areas and community waste collection systems. Participants will also be trained on making Green Garbage bags. Giving importance to soft skills in entrepreneurship, a special module on communication skills was incorporated as part of the training. Participants will continue their training for a month after the end of the initial 10-day starter training programme.
