“FUTURE OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION”
An expert talk was organized by the School of Education and Humanities, Manav Rachna University on 23rd February 2022 in I block auditorium from 2:00 pm-3:00 pm. This event was undertaken as a part of the course curriculum for understanding the changing world of work for the future educators being trained in the integrated B.A.Ed. /BSc B.Ed. and B.Ed.program.
Image: The speaker, Ms. Preeti Arora advancing her thoughts with a presentation
The event kickstarted with Ms. Preeti Arora , Senior Head of Digital Skilling Solutions & Innovations, Education Partnerships, Trainer & Assessor Developmentexploring the role of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in the skill ecosystem such as understanding the enablers of technology, exploring market analytics, advancing industry partnerships, international collaboration, and e-skill initiatives undertaken by the organization. The organization, a public-private partnership under the ministry of skill development and education was presented as the nodal agency providing skill support and training to build human capital since 2009. A conglomeration of centers which have been associated with the organization for proving skill training in areas such as electronics, sewing, computer applications, automation development, etc were discussed.
The speaker also mentioned government augmented schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, Udaan Scheme, Short-term training, Recognition of Prior Learnings, connecting Classroom Instructions with on-job training, and the vocationalization of school education as skill enhancement verticals.
Digital skilling was a key focus of the discussions with a four-fold focus firstly on promoting entrepreneurship through e-skill India wherein partnerships with platforms such as Britannia, Airtel Payments Bank, Sahi pay and TrueTest were carried out as a means of recognizing new business models and ideas; secondly expanding the offerings in the future of work skill courses with platforms such as Khan Academy, Virtu learning etc, providing foundational courses free of cost to individuals; thirdly awareness creation on COVID-19 wherein healthcare domain was focused in the skilling activities and fourthly EdTech Partnerships with UpGrad,eNguru and Byju’s among others. In this manner, Ms. Arora focussed on how the e-skill platformaccounted for nearly 75% of enrolments from the top 10 states in India.
The youth connect to enable digital skilling was also brought forwardwith a range of e-applications such as NSDC Kaushal e-pustakalaya and e-skill India app which have been prominent tools enabling the skill-training processes and benefitting a dominant proportion of the population. Additionally, the speaker diligently mentioned how with the changing world of work, a wave of new roles, algorithms, and mindsets would set in the employment market. She simulated this change with the other global changes in the daily lives such as the invention of the tyre, electricity, smartphones, and so on. Adaptive changes according to her thus, did not set in immediately but percolated slowly into the economic system and individual workings. The good takeaway from the discussion she opened up was that the youth especially the future educators could be the frontrunners in bridging this change as skills such as problem-solving, self-management, working with people, and technology development would resonate with future employability training.
Image: Our Audience- Students and Faculty being addressed by the Expert
The 21st-century skills thereby required by the youth were outlined as foundational literacies, competencies, and character qualities.
Ms. Arora also discussed the Digital Ecosystem for Skills and Livelihood (DESH) as a means to boost employability. The program according to her was launched in the union budget 2022-23 with targets for skilling, upskilling and reskilling. The aim of the initiative was to boost employability with skilling and industry partnerships. The lacuna of the share of women in employment in India was also debated and since the students in the education and humanities department comprised largely of girl candidates, the speaker stressed upon women being the agents of change by blurring boundaries between education and skilling.
Lastly, the hard skills in respect of measurable skills acquired through training, education, and practice, soft skills in respect of behavioural and interpersonal skills, and life skills such as the psychosocial competencies and interpersonal skillswere clearly distinguished to make the audiences understand the importance of competencies in individual development. The talk ended with a description of the skilling initiatives at the school education level that is MHRD’s ‘Samagra Shiksha’ Program operational in 31 States and UTsand higher education level that is the bachelors in vocational education available across 9 industry sectors, apprenticeship program available in last semester of graduate study and apprenticeship embedded in degree program which was launched in 2019 in 25 colleges (as Phase 1) targeting 686 candidates being supported by Logistics, Retail, Media SSCs.
The audience appreciated and benefitted from the expert talk and they posed interesting questions such as, how NSDC and teacher educators could collaborate? Within the emoluments of NEP, was vocationalization at grade 6 too early an intervention? given the importance of skilling, was formal education important at all? The speaker interactively discussed these questions and addressed the queries effectively.
The expert discussions were thus, beneficial to both students and faculty as they gave an insight into how skill development could be an empowering means to survive in an ever-changing and advancing world.