“Skilling is building a better India. If we have to move India towards development, then skill development should be our mission” – Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India
As per the estimates, the total workforce in the logistics sector will increase from the current 21 million to over 31 million by the year 2022. Hence it is no brainer to think that the government, different logistics governing bodies and training institutes need to build training capacity to meet the skill demand of the industry. It is already a fact that apprenticeship and on-the-job training are the best ways to build a skilled workforce. Understanding the need of building a skilled workforce for the promising logistics industry, Logistics Skill Council (LSC) launched the ‘First Apprentice’ program under National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) to boost apprenticeships in the Logistics sector in 2017.
What is interesting to note is, till date there has been no formal training in the country especially in the logistics sector to address the skill gap. The LSC has 40 Qualification Packs under development which will address the skill need in 11 sub-sectors. This has been permitting clear career development progression as well as lateral mobility by enabling the candidate to multi-task.
Also Read: BBA Degree in Logistics; Human Capital Reinvention
Why skilling is crucial in the logistics industry?
Let’s admit it. Logistics is the backbone of the manufacturing industry.
As quoted by the LSC Chairman “it is the yardsticks for performance by Logistic Companies, given the highly demanding production lines of manufacturers.”
With different regulatory changes like “One nation one tax – GST”, and the current government’s Make in India flagship project, skilling the youth of India is getting a lot of prominence and logistics companies are making the most out of it. Since the logistics sector is based heavily on manpower and is process driven hence the demand for a skilled workforce is always very high. However, so far, the only training that was given to the logistics professional in India was “on the job”. Identifying this gap between the skillset and the industry demand, the Logistics Sector Skill Council (LSC) has been created as an Industry apex body by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to fix this gap.
Role of LSC
Ever since its inception in 2015, LSC has steadily been growing and establishing itself in the skill ecosystem. It has already articulated its scope encompassing 11 sub-sectors to complete creating the Qualification Packs and National Occupation Standards in these 11 sub-sectors. Being one of its kind and also the first in India, it serves as the basis for structured training for the entry-level workforce in the Logistics Sector in the country.
LSC is also playing a critical role in shaping institutional mechanisms for ensuring that the logistics sector has skilled manpower. It has been successful in setting up industry-driven training centres along with introducing apprenticeship programs exclusively for the logistic industry. LSC has a mission of getting 20% of the manpower in logistics companies to be LSC certified by 2020 which is only possible when companies from both government and private sectors join hand in hand and come in the forefront.
Remembering the need for augmenting the formal knowledge and skills in the logistic industry, another institution that is doing a tremendous job in upskilling the logistic industry is the CII – Confederation of Indian Industry. The CII Institute of Logistics is a centre of excellence for logistics and supply chain. It has been playing a critical role in promoting the logistics skill council which is now offered through PMKVY programs at a national level. CII IL is also associated with different corporates to develop a customized program for the internal skill upgrading of different logistics companies. The main objective is to increase the income growth of the workforce by upskilling them and making them on par with the industry requirement. CII offers different programs including government programs like Recognition Prior Learning (RPL), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), supports Logistics Sector Skill Council (LSC) with Content Development. It also associates with LSC as Basic Training Provider (BTP) to implement training. It also offers placement support to the candidates through its wider industry network.
Another well – known private institution that is playing a pivotal role in upskilling the workforce is the Interport Global Logistics. It has crafted different training programs to cater to individual need and help the candidates to upskill themselves. The USP of their program is they identify and nurture individual skill sets and talents as each individual is unique.
Also Read: Vocational Training and Apprenticeship opportunities in Logistics
The logistics industry is already making the most out of the apprenticeship program with some of the pioneers that have already lend a helping hand to upskill the workforce. However, the need is huge and hence we need more and more institution at different levels to come in the forefront to take India’s logistic skillsets to a new height altogether.
