Commented on Skilling Challenges in a Welfare State called India

In my opinion it is a matter of convenience of all the stake holders: It is not convenient for the politician to spend money in any scheme other than welfare schemes (e.g. NREGA) for votes. It is not convenient for the business class to shell out a bit more to the real worker as he needs to grow at geometric progression ( e.g. a power plant worth Rs.4000 crores in Chattisgarh was said to break even in two years ... any guess on how much the workers who built the plant got or the villagers who gave their land got). It is not convenient for NSDC partners to train & motivate themselves about really skilling the needy..... for them, it is a government scheme for doing business .... it is the poor youth who should be lectured to be sincere & hard working ... the educated skill training campaigner is already motivated. And finally it is not convenient for the poor youth of India ..... he gets Rice @ Re.1 to eat, gets a free bicycle to move, has NREGA & other schemes to take care of his other physiological needs......a free laptop to study..... he feels safe at home ..... gets love & belongingness in his home town.... he feels satisfied. Can we lecture ( change attitude, importance of hard work etc.) this young generation who are being skilled under govt. schemes by giving him a wage of Rs. 6000 p.m, putting him in unhygienic and unsafe working conditions to leave all satisfaction he has being at home? If the planners are serious about skilling India, they have to look at needs of everyone, not just people who are high on Maslow’s hierarchy model but also the underprivileged youth of India ... today’s youth’s basic needs are met being at home ... can the system raise its bar is the big question.

Commented on Skilling Challenges in a Welfare State called India

Dear Pooja, good to reconnect. Making vocational jobs aspirational is key - both in terms of compensation and dignity of labour. Luis

Commented on Skilling Challenges in a Welfare State called India

Gayatri, thanks for your post. Yes, the lack of dignity of labour is a big problem in India, and a problem that will take time to get over. One factor that could help speed up that process is the shortage of labour and the rise in the implied minimum wage due to schemes like NREGS. Luis

Commented on Skilling Challenges in a Welfare State called India

Fantastic to see that your oversight on skilling issues continues Luis. I still remember you saying (am paraphrasing of course) - " financial services will have to reach every Indian, for which you will need many Indians - that are skilled and trained" - during session on Sector Skills Council for Financial Services during the Global Skills Summit in 2007. Financial linkages are a key towards making skills and training aspirational..... We are doing a lot of work in that space(www.ilfsskills.com) and i would be happy to re-connect Cheers! Pooja

Commented on Skilling Challenges in a Welfare State called India

Highly interesting blog post! Thank you for sharing this. I am currently a fellow with the American India Foundation and have been working on skills development in India for the past year. We just completed a survey of young people in India and found a tremendous amount of frustration among youth who wanted to work but seemed to face a lack of options which they found suitable - this mis-match of youth aspirations with the jobs open causes such a deep level if disillusionment among youth. Ultimately I think much of this issue comes from the lack of dignity or labor or rather lack of respect for a hard days work. So many people in India work tirelessly day in and day out but get no more economic benefit and no more access to opportunity. I thank you for raising this issue - an important conversation to keep going - I'm glad you brought up the TechnoServe model - there is another org in West Bengal doing great work with motivating and employing young people called iMerit.