VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme popularly known as "ITEC" was launched in 1964 as a bilateral programme of assistance of the Government of India.

ITEC is about cooperation and partnership for mutual benefit. It is response oriented and it addresses the needs of developing countries.

India is not a rich country and cannot offer grants-in-aid to match those of the developed countries. It does, however, possess skills of manpower and technology more appropriate to the geographical and ecological conditions and the stage of technological development of several developing countries.

India spends about Rs.500 million annually on ITEC activities. Since 1964, India has provided over US $2 billion worth of technical assistance to developing countries, including neighboring countries (assistance to whom is administered separately).

ITEC is the flag bearer of the Indian Governments technical cooperation effort, not only because of its wide geographical coverage but also for innovative forms of technical cooperation in which it has assisted.

ITEC is essentially bilateral. There have been occasions, however, when ITEC resources were used for financing Trilateral and Regional Programmes under the Economic Commission for Africa, UNIDO and Group of 77. Today, AARRO,(Afro Asian Rural Reconstruction Organisation) and G-15 are being helped by ITEC with Training and project support and a small beginning has also been made with cooperation with the SADC(Southern African Development Community).

Indian Technical Economic Cooperation has five components viz (1) Training in India of nominees of ITEC partner countries; (2) Projects and project related activities such as feasibility studies and consultancy services; (3) Deputation of Indian experts abroad ; (4) Study Tours. (5) Aid for Disaster Relief (ADR).

1) TRAINING

Ever since the inception of ITEC programme, training of thousands of nominees of ITEC Partner countries have been the most successful cooperation programme and is highly appreciated by the recipient countries. Training, both civilian and defence personnel, constitute about 40 percent of annual ITEC programme budget.

a) Civilian Training

The training courses cover a wide variety of subjects such as Information Technology (IT); Parliamentary Studies; Accounts & Finance; Mass Communication; English Language Courses; Rural Development; Teachers’ training; Bank Management; Educational Planning & Administration; Entrepreneurship Development; Secretariat Training and Management; Standardization & Quality Assurance; Repair and Maintenance of Telecom Equipment and Computers; Fertilizer Quality control; Food Technology; Tool Design; Poultry Training; Manpower Research; Statistical Education; Non Conventional Energy Resources; IT in Law Enforcement; Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development; Water Resourses, etc etc.

Government of India bears the entire expenditure for ITEC/SCAAP trainings in India, which include airfare, tuition fees, living allowances, medical expenses, book grants and extra baggage allowance

b) Military Training

India offers training in all the three wings of Defence Services to selected number of countries in some of the prestigious institutions like National Defence College, New Delhi and National Defence Services Staff College, Wellington in Tamil Nadu. The training covers a number of fields such as, Security and Strategic Studies, Defence Management, Artillery, Electronics, Mechanical Engineering, Marine and Aeronautical Engineering, Anti-Marine Warfare, Hydrography, Logistics and Management & Qualitative Assurance Services.

The training is covered under different programmes. Under ITEC-I Scheme, entire cost of air travel, tuition fees, living allowance, medical and study tours are borne by the Government of India. Under ITEC-II, only the cost of international travel is met by the beneficiary country and all other charges are borne by the Government of India. There is provision for training under the Self-Financing and Reciprocal Schemes also.

2) PROJECTS AND PROJECT RELATED ACTIVITIES SUCH AS CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Project Assistance like training, accounts for 40 percent of the annual ITEC programme budget. Through these projects India assists developing countries to establish useful infrastructural facilities with technological means and skills appropriate to their resources and needs. Projects have been financed across Asia, Africa and Latin America and in recent years, in the central Asian Republics (CARs).

Through project assistance, India also demonstrates the skills, technologies and human resource capacities which she has acquired in the course of the her own development.

However the major focus of project assistance is agriculture. ITEC has provided Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali and Suriname with equipment and expertise for agricultural use, which has been generally well received.

Vocational training in small-scale industries and entrepreneurship development are important areas of cooperation with Senegal, Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Mongolia under ITEC. Such training enables young people to gain useful employment at comparatively low levels of capital intensity.

ITEC carries out feasibility studies and consultancy services on request. Results of these studies are handed over to the Governments concerned, free of charge to use in any manner they choose.

Throughout the post-independence period there have been many attempts to reform the Indian vocational education system and make it more applicable. The list of vocational education policy reforms that have been attempted over the last 60 years is quite extensive. Without raising standards, efforts have been made to go forward with market-oriented reforms to the vocational education system. This study mainly focuses on the present parallel (vocational) education system with the help of the indicative data. This article also proposes certain policy interventions in the parallel educational system.

Vocational education consists basically of practical courses through which one gains skills and experience directly linked to a career in future. It helps students to be skilled and in turn, offers better employment opportunities. These trainings are parallel to the other conventional courses of study (like B. Sc., M. Sc. etc.). Time management and meeting deadlines play an important role in success in a vocational course and during their studies students normally produce a portfolio of evidence (plans, reports, drawings, videos, placements), which is taken as a demonstration of students’ capabilities for a job. After finishing the courses, students are often offered placements in jobs. Vocational trainings in a way give students some work related experiences that many employers look for. According to a National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) report (No. 517, 61/10/03) two types of vocational trainings are available in India: a) Formal and; b) Non-formal. Formal vocational training follows a structured training program and leads to certificates, diplomas or degrees, recognized by State/Central Government, Public Sector and other reputed concerns. Non-formal vocational training helps in acquiring some marketable expertise, which enables a person to carry out her/his ancestral trade or occupation. In a way through such non-formal vocational training, a person receives vocational training through ‘hereditary’ sources. Often ‘Non-formal’ vocational trainings are also received through ‘other sources’. In such cases training received by a person to pursue a vocation, is not ancestral and is different from the trade or occupation of his/her ancestors.

Different institutions which impart vocational training can be classified into five categories: (i) Government, (ii) Local body, (iii) Private aided, (iv) Private unaided, and (v) not known. According to a NSSO report vocational training is received by only 10% of persons aged between 15-29 years. Out of this only 2% receive formal training, while non-formal training constitutes the remaining 8%. Out of the formal training received by that particular age group only 3% are employed. Most sought after field of training is computer related training. Only 20% of formal vocational training is received from ITI/ITCs. In India, technical education and vocational training system follows patterns like graduate - post graduate, engineer - technologists through training colleges, diploma from polytechnics and certificate level training in ITIs through formal apprenticeships.
The Vocational Training in India is imparted by mainly two types of bodies:

• Public Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)
• Private owned Industrial Training Centres (ITCs)

The Indian Government has invested a lot for the development of skills through ITIs. The DGE&T generally regulates these ITIs and ITCs at national level and implements policies for vocational training.

Training statistics of ITI/ITCs - main formal vocational training institutes in India:
Some of the principal training schemes are:

• The Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS)
• Apprenticeship Training Scheme (ATS).

According to the Planning commission report for the 11th Five year plan there are about 5,114 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) imparting training in 57 engineering and 50 non-engineering trades. Of these, 1,896 are State Government-run ITIs while 3,218 are private. The total seating capacity in these ITIs is 7.42 lakh (4 lakh seats in government ITIs and the remaining 3.42 lakh in private ITCs). Figures below this text represent detailed information on the number and capacity of ITIs/ITCs in different states/UTs. A number of vocational training institutes are being run by private training providers. The formal training system of India starts at Grade 8 and above. According to a report of ILO, the quality of DGE&T’s skills development programmes compete with other programmes , such as high vocational schools (10 plus 2 stream), colleges, polytechnics, etc. The share of ITI-based training seems to capture around 10-12 per cent of the total number of school pass outs at Grade10 level.

Details about the nature of the training in ITIs etc. are available on the website of

• Ministry of Labour (http://labour.nic.in/)
• National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) (http://dget.gov.in)

National Council for Vocational Training’, an advisory body, was set up by the Government of India in the year 1956. The National Council is chaired by the Minister of Labour, with members from different Central and State Government Departments, Employers and Workers organizations, Professional and Learned Bodies, All India Council for Technical Education, Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes, All India Women’s Organization, etc. And State Councils for Vocational Training at the State level and Trade Committees have been established to assist the NCVT. Main mandate of the NCVT, according to DGE&T, is to establish and award National Trade Certificates in engineering, non-engineering, building, textile, leather trades and such other trades which are brought within its scope by the Government of India. It also prescribes standards in respect of syllabi, equipment, scales of accommodation, duration of courses and methods of training. It also conducts tests in various trade courses and lays down standards of proficiency required for passing the examination leading to the award of National Trade Certificate etc.

It is clear that out of total 315,746 paramedical workers in rural India, 47% are female health workers. But extension workers are very few; almost 1%. We also need to focus on the availability of Radio Graphers, Pharmacists and Laboratory Technicians for rural India. To disseminate knowledge of basic health facilities we need to train more paramedical workers for rural India. But unfortunately at present they are few compared to the large size of the rural population.

Schools also provide vocational training formally at 10 and 12^th level. It is observed that states like Punjab, Orissa Tamil Nadu etc. hold approximately 79% stake in number of schools which impart vocational training. And Maharashtra is the foremost, holding more than 16%. Schools have an important role in vocational studies because one can start learning a vocation from his/her schools days. More coverage in school with proper infrastructure can create a large technical group in future, which at present is deficient.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) impart training and awards vocational certificates for the unorganized sectors. KVIC (established in April 1957) is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament. It took over the work of former All India Khadi and Village Industries Board.

It has the main objective of generating employment; the other objective of producing saleable products; and the wider objective of creating self-reliance amongst the people and building up of strong rural community spirit.

• KVIC is assigned with the proper planning, promotion, organizational implementation of programmes for the development of Khadi and other village industries in rural areas incoordination with other agencies engaged in rural development and are also charged with the responsibility of encouraging and promoting research in the KVI sector.

• KVIC is also entrusted with the task of providing financial assistance to institutions engaged inrural development.

Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) is the major programme of KVIC. The mainobjective of this programme is employment generation in rural areas by setting up new villageindustries (except those on negative list) by availing loans from banks and margin money (middle end subsidy) being provided by KVIC. Beneficiaries own contributions should be minimum 10% of project cost for general category and 5% of project cost for special category. Banks will sanction 90% of the project cost in case of general category and 95% for project cost for special category beneficiary. Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) as a central scheme to be monitored by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME). The implementation body will be Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory organization under the administrative control of the Ministry of MSME as the single nodal agency at the National level. At the State level, the Scheme will be implemented through State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs) and District Industries Centers (DICs) and banks. The Government subsidy under the scheme is routed by KVIC through the Banks for similar distribution to the beneficiaries / entrepreneurs in their Bank accounts. The Implementing Agencies, such as KVIC, KVIBs and DICs will associate with different Non Government Organizations (NGOs)/reputed autonomous institutions/Self Help Groups (SHGs)/ National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC)/Udyami Mitras empanelled under Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana (RGUMY), Panchayati Raj institutions and other relevant bodies in the implementation of the Scheme. Here training, formally or informally, plays a crucial role for success for the schemes.It is also observed that women’s participation has also increased for Khadi training from 52% to 82.1%. But the women’s participation fell from 47% to 30.9% and from 41.5% to 20% for Village industries and Other EAP/EDP trainings respectively. Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Orissa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttaranchal and UP are the main states where KVIC imparts maximum number of trainings.

Tool Room & Training Centers (DC, MSME): Govt. of India has set up a few Tool Room & Training Centers of large size involving estimated cost of over Rs. 50 crores each, in order to provide facilities for design and manufacture of tools. Govt. of India have decided to assist the State governments by setting up Mini Tool Room and Training Centers.

The main objective of the Mini Tool Room & Training Centers would be-

• Manufacturing jigs, fixtures, cutting tools, gauges, press tools, plastic moulds, forging dies, pressure casting dies and other tools for Small Scale Industries. To provide training facility in tool manufacturing and tool design to generate a work force of skilled workers, supervisors, engineers/designers etc.
• To work as a Nucleus Centre for providing consultancy, information service, documentation etc, for solving problems related to tooling of industries in the region. And to act as a Common Facility Centre for small scale industries and to assist them in product and prototype development.

National Manufacturing Competitive Council (NMCC): This Body was set up by Govt. of India in the year of 2004 as a part of National Common Minimum Program to help in accelerated growth of GDP, primarily focusing on manufacturing Industry. According to the strategy for National Manufacturing-2006, vocational training plays a key role on this. According to a report by NMCC, if Indian manufacturing has to grow at around 12 percent per annum, it will be necessary for the education and training system to produce at least 1.5 million technically skilled people every year. It is estimated that the country would need an incremental requirement of about 20 million skilled technicians by 2015.

To support the growth of manufacturing, the policy highlights of NMCC on vocational training system are:

• The public sector driven initiative, through The Apprentices Act, 1961 and ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) has not been able to keep pace with changing requirements. So we need to be taken care of the up-gradation of the Industrial Training Institutes through public-private partnerships, with training authorities de-linked from certifying ones.
• To initiate some PPP mode operations to establish and operate new demand driven technical training centres through financial and other incentives, with designed industry-managed and government supported, quality control and accreditation systems.
• Two major themes to be taken up on priority basis, namely; ‘National Vocational Education Qualification System’ and setting up a Vocational Education & Training Institute in each State.
• Private sector manufacturing/engineering organizations will be encouraged to adopt Vocational Education Institutes to meet the challenges. The diploma-holders form the backbone of the manufacturing sector at the ‘hands on’ level. But for keeping focus on the rapid changes in manufacturing technology it is essential that the polytechnic institutions be strengthened both in terms of the equipment and teaching faculty; with curricula changing to match the emerging needs of the manufacturing sector.

CAPART (Council for Advancement of Rural Technology): CAPART is playing a crucial role in implementing development activities through funding of different voluntary organizations. These voluntary organizations help rural people to enhance livelihood by giving them support through different modes of vocational training and related activities. CAPART has been formed byamalgamating the 'Council for Advancement of Rural Technology' (CART) and ‘People's Action for Development India’ (PADI). CAPART is an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860, under the aegis of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and it has been a major promoter of rural development in India, assisting over 12,000 voluntary organizations.

SRI, Ranchi (Society for Rural Industrialization): This society has major programme to impart training for the rural people. It mainly focuses on skill development of village youths. Training of trainers and management training are offered to other organizations including the government. The skill training includes courses on communication, personality building and enterprise management. It also offers short training courses on programme management for various National schemes for functionaries of NGOs and of Governments. SRI’s tie up with Indian Institute of Science, IIT-Kharagpur and CBRI-Roorkee on cost-effective construction is well known.

Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission: Ramakrishna Math was established by Sri Ramakrishna(1836-1886). Ramakrishna Mission is a society (registered) in which monks and devotees of Ramakrishna Math cooperate in conducting various types of social services, mainly in India. It was founded by Sri Ramakrishna's chief apostle, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), one of the foremost thinkers and religious leaders of the present age. Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are legally and financially separate from each other but they are closely inter-related in several other ways, and are to be regarded as twin organizations. Vocational training is one of their most valuable inputs in development activity. The rural and tribal activities are mainly classified as: (i) General; (ii) Agricultural; (iii) Educational and Self-reliance training; and (iv) Medical. Within the classification of Educational and self-reliance training, free schools are run for children. Adult and non-formal education centers have been set up. Audio-visual shows, farmers’ fairs and the like are also organized. And a major activity is to help the formation of self-help groups and training schemes are organized for teaching lathe-turning, carpentry, bee-keeping, pisciculture, dairy-farming and poultry-farming, weaving, incense-stick rolling, etc to enable the rural and tribal community to achieve minimum livelihood. (Details available on: http://www.belurmath.org )

Some other institutes which impart vocational training like Gandhi Ashram in Wardha and Madurai are also important in this field. We could name a few like Nanaji Deshmukh and many other personalities who had done remarkable work in the vocational education field in rural areas.

The Eleventh Plan has taken an initiative to launch a National Skill Development Mission that may bring some changes in ‘Skill Development’ programmes and initiatives. The Mission will be operative under Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development for apex level policy directions, and under the National Skill Development Coordination Board, and a National Skill Development Corporation/Trust. The State governments will engage some of their Departments/Agencies for constituting a State Skill Development Mission. Some chosen private sectors (mainly twenty high growth sectors), will play an important part as the private arm of the Mission with an outlay of Rs 22,800 crores.

Constituents of Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development and National Skill Development Coordination Board will be the following:

• Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development: Prime Minister as Chairman; Ministers of Finance, HRD, Industries, Rural Development, Labour & Employment and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation; Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission; Chairperson, National Manufacturing Competitive Council; Chairperson of the National Skill Development Corporation; six experts in the area of Skill Development as Members and Private Secretary to Prime Minister as Member-Secretary.
• National Skill Development Coordination Board: Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission as Chairman; Chairperson/Chief Executive Officer of the National Skill Development Corporation, Secretaries of Ministries of Finance, Human Resource Development, Labour and Employment, Rural Development, Housing and Employment, Rural Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation; Secretaries of Four States by rotation, for a period of two years, three Distinguished Academicians/Subject Area Specialists as Members and Secretary, Planning Commission as the Member-Secretary.

The National Skill Development Corporation will be constituted as Government Equity with a view to obtaining about Rs 15,000 crore from the public and private sectors, and other bilateral and multilateral sources for the promotion of skill development. It will act as a non-profit company under the Companies Act, with appropriate governance structures (board of directors being drawn from outstanding professionals/experts).

The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS): It has been set up as an advisory body for the informal sector to bring about improvement in the productivity of these enterprises and for generation of large scale employment opportunities on a sustainable basis, particularly in rural areas. (Details available at: http://nceus.gov.in).

Public Private Partnership (PPP): Major emphasis has been given on the PPP mode in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. It focuses on the following:

• Private Investment in Skill Training.
• National framework for domain specific standards and common principles.
• National database for location wise availability (and shortage) of skilled personnel will be established.
• The system should provide the options of multiple entry and exit points and total mobility between vocational, general and technical streams.
• Special emphasis on economically weaker section.
• To overcome the regional disparities due to diverse socio-economic factors, VGF approach would be adopted to address regional imbalances through PPP.

The eleventh five year plan also envisions setting up an Apex skill development institute which will take initiatives on programme testing, certification, curriculum setting faculty development, introduction of new elective courses in IITs /IIMs etc.

Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme popularly known as "ITEC" was launched in 1964 as a bilateral programme of assistance of the Government of India.

ITEC is about cooperation and partnership for mutual benefit. It is response oriented and it addresses the needs of developing countries.

India is not a rich country and cannot offer grants-in-aid to match those of the developed countries. It does, however, possess skills of manpower and technology more appropriate to the geographical and ecological conditions and the stage of technological development of several developing countries.

India spends about Rs.500 million annually on ITEC activities. Since 1964, India has provided over US $2 billion worth of technical assistance to developing countries, including neighboring countries (assistance to whom is administered separately).

ITEC is the flag bearer of the Indian Governments technical cooperation effort, not only because of its wide geographical coverage but also for innovative forms of technical cooperation in which it has assisted.

ITEC is essentially bilateral. There have been occasions, however, when ITEC resources were used for financing Trilateral and Regional Programmes under the Economic Commission for Africa, UNIDO and Group of 77. Today, AARRO,(Afro Asian Rural Reconstruction Organisation) and G-15 are being helped by ITEC with Training and project support and a small beginning has also been made with cooperation with the SADC(Southern African Development Community).

Indian Technical Economic Cooperation has five components viz (1) Training in India of nominees of ITEC partner countries; (2) Projects and project related activities such as feasibility studies and consultancy services; (3) Deputation of Indian experts abroad ; (4) Study Tours. (5) Aid for Disaster Relief (ADR).

1) TRAINING

Ever since the inception of ITEC programme, training of thousands of nominees of ITEC Partner countries have been the most successful cooperation programme and is highly appreciated by the recipient countries. Training, both civilian and defence personnel, constitute about 40 percent of annual ITEC programme budget.

a) Civilian Training

The training courses cover a wide variety of subjects such as Information Technology (IT); Parliamentary Studies; Accounts & Finance; Mass Communication; English Language Courses; Rural Development; Teachers’ training; Bank Management; Educational Planning & Administration; Entrepreneurship Development; Secretariat Training and Management; Standardization & Quality Assurance; Repair and Maintenance of Telecom Equipment and Computers; Fertilizer Quality control; Food Technology; Tool Design; Poultry Training; Manpower Research; Statistical Education; Non Conventional Energy Resources; IT in Law Enforcement; Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development; Water Resourses, etc etc.

Government of India bears the entire expenditure for ITEC/SCAAP trainings in India, which include airfare, tuition fees, living allowances, medical expenses, book grants and extra baggage allowance

b) Military Training

India offers training in all the three wings of Defence Services to selected number of countries in some of the prestigious institutions like National Defence College, New Delhi and National Defence Services Staff College, Wellington in Tamil Nadu. The training covers a number of fields such as, Security and Strategic Studies, Defence Management, Artillery, Electronics, Mechanical Engineering, Marine and Aeronautical Engineering, Anti-Marine Warfare, Hydrography, Logistics and Management & Qualitative Assurance Services.

The training is covered under different programmes. Under ITEC-I Scheme, entire cost of air travel, tuition fees, living allowance, medical and study tours are borne by the Government of India. Under ITEC-II, only the cost of international travel is met by the beneficiary country and all other charges are borne by the Government of India. There is provision for training under the Self-Financing and Reciprocal Schemes also.

2) PROJECTS AND PROJECT RELATED ACTIVITIES SUCH AS CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Project Assistance like training, accounts for 40 percent of the annual ITEC programme budget. Through these projects India assists developing countries to establish useful infrastructural facilities with technological means and skills appropriate to their resources and needs. Projects have been financed across Asia, Africa and Latin America and in recent years, in the central Asian Republics (CARs).

Through project assistance, India also demonstrates the skills, technologies and human resource capacities which she has acquired in the course of the her own development.

However the major focus of project assistance is agriculture. ITEC has provided Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali and Suriname with equipment and expertise for agricultural use, which has been generally well received.

Vocational training in small-scale industries and entrepreneurship development are important areas of cooperation with Senegal, Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Mongolia under ITEC. Such training enables young people to gain useful employment at comparatively low levels of capital intensity.

ITEC carries out feasibility studies and consultancy services on request. Results of these studies are handed over to the Governments concerned, free of charge to use in any manner they choose.

Throughout the post-independence period there have been many attempts to reform the Indian vocational education system and make it more applicable. The list of vocational education policy reforms that have been attempted over the last 60 years is quite extensive. Without raising standards, efforts have been made to go forward with market-oriented reforms to the vocational education system. This study mainly focuses on the present parallel (vocational) education system with the help of the indicative data. This article also proposes certain policy interventions in the parallel educational system.

Vocational education consists basically of practical courses through which one gains skills and experience directly linked to a career in future. It helps students to be skilled and in turn, offers better employment opportunities. These trainings are parallel to the other conventional courses of study (like B. Sc., M. Sc. etc.). Time management and meeting deadlines play an important role in success in a vocational course and during their studies students normally produce a portfolio of evidence (plans, reports, drawings, videos, placements), which is taken as a demonstration of students’ capabilities for a job. After finishing the courses, students are often offered placements in jobs. Vocational trainings in a way give students some work related experiences that many employers look for. According to a National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) report (No. 517, 61/10/03) two types of vocational trainings are available in India: a) Formal and; b) Non-formal. Formal vocational training follows a structured training program and leads to certificates, diplomas or degrees, recognized by State/Central Government, Public Sector and other reputed concerns. Non-formal vocational training helps in acquiring some marketable expertise, which enables a person to carry out her/his ancestral trade or occupation. In a way through such non-formal vocational training, a person receives vocational training through ‘hereditary’ sources. Often ‘Non-formal’ vocational trainings are also received through ‘other sources’. In such cases training received by a person to pursue a vocation, is not ancestral and is different from the trade or occupation of his/her ancestors.

Different institutions which impart vocational training can be classified into five categories: (i) Government, (ii) Local body, (iii) Private aided, (iv) Private unaided, and (v) not known. According to a NSSO report vocational training is received by only 10% of persons aged between 15-29 years. Out of this only 2% receive formal training, while non-formal training constitutes the remaining 8%. Out of the formal training received by that particular age group only 3% are employed. Most sought after field of training is computer related training. Only 20% of formal vocational training is received from ITI/ITCs. In India, technical education and vocational training system follows patterns like graduate - post graduate, engineer - technologists through training colleges, diploma from polytechnics and certificate level training in ITIs through formal apprenticeships.
The Vocational Training in India is imparted by mainly two types of bodies:

• Public Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)
• Private owned Industrial Training Centres (ITCs)

The Indian Government has invested a lot for the development of skills through ITIs. The DGE&T generally regulates these ITIs and ITCs at national level and implements policies for vocational training.

Training statistics of ITI/ITCs - main formal vocational training institutes in India:
Some of the principal training schemes are:

• The Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS)
• Apprenticeship Training Scheme (ATS).

According to the Planning commission report for the 11th Five year plan there are about 5,114 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) imparting training in 57 engineering and 50 non-engineering trades. Of these, 1,896 are State Government-run ITIs while 3,218 are private. The total seating capacity in these ITIs is 7.42 lakh (4 lakh seats in government ITIs and the remaining 3.42 lakh in private ITCs). Figures below this text represent detailed information on the number and capacity of ITIs/ITCs in different states/UTs. A number of vocational training institutes are being run by private training providers. The formal training system of India starts at Grade 8 and above. According to a report of ILO, the quality of DGE&T’s skills development programmes compete with other programmes , such as high vocational schools (10 plus 2 stream), colleges, polytechnics, etc. The share of ITI-based training seems to capture around 10-12 per cent of the total number of school pass outs at Grade10 level.

Details about the nature of the training in ITIs etc. are available on the website of

• Ministry of Labour (http://labour.nic.in/)
• National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) (http://dget.gov.in)

National Council for Vocational Training’, an advisory body, was set up by the Government of India in the year 1956. The National Council is chaired by the Minister of Labour, with members from different Central and State Government Departments, Employers and Workers organizations, Professional and Learned Bodies, All India Council for Technical Education, Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes, All India Women’s Organization, etc. And State Councils for Vocational Training at the State level and Trade Committees have been established to assist the NCVT. Main mandate of the NCVT, according to DGE&T, is to establish and award National Trade Certificates in engineering, non-engineering, building, textile, leather trades and such other trades which are brought within its scope by the Government of India. It also prescribes standards in respect of syllabi, equipment, scales of accommodation, duration of courses and methods of training. It also conducts tests in various trade courses and lays down standards of proficiency required for passing the examination leading to the award of National Trade Certificate etc.

It is clear that out of total 315,746 paramedical workers in rural India, 47% are female health workers. But extension workers are very few; almost 1%. We also need to focus on the availability of Radio Graphers, Pharmacists and Laboratory Technicians for rural India. To disseminate knowledge of basic health facilities we need to train more paramedical workers for rural India. But unfortunately at present they are few compared to the large size of the rural population.

Schools also provide vocational training formally at 10 and 12^th level. It is observed that states like Punjab, Orissa Tamil Nadu etc. hold approximately 79% stake in number of schools which impart vocational training. And Maharashtra is the foremost, holding more than 16%. Schools have an important role in vocational studies because one can start learning a vocation from his/her schools days. More coverage in school with proper infrastructure can create a large technical group in future, which at present is deficient.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) impart training and awards vocational certificates for the unorganized sectors. KVIC (established in April 1957) is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament. It took over the work of former All India Khadi and Village Industries Board.

It has the main objective of generating employment; the other objective of producing saleable products; and the wider objective of creating self-reliance amongst the people and building up of strong rural community spirit.

• KVIC is assigned with the proper planning, promotion, organizational implementation of programmes for the development of Khadi and other village industries in rural areas incoordination with other agencies engaged in rural development and are also charged with the responsibility of encouraging and promoting research in the KVI sector.

• KVIC is also entrusted with the task of providing financial assistance to institutions engaged inrural development.

Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) is the major programme of KVIC. The mainobjective of this programme is employment generation in rural areas by setting up new villageindustries (except those on negative list) by availing loans from banks and margin money (middle end subsidy) being provided by KVIC. Beneficiaries own contributions should be minimum 10% of project cost for general category and 5% of project cost for special category. Banks will sanction 90% of the project cost in case of general category and 95% for project cost for special category beneficiary. Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) as a central scheme to be monitored by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME). The implementation body will be Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory organization under the administrative control of the Ministry of MSME as the single nodal agency at the National level. At the State level, the Scheme will be implemented through State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs) and District Industries Centers (DICs) and banks. The Government subsidy under the scheme is routed by KVIC through the Banks for similar distribution to the beneficiaries / entrepreneurs in their Bank accounts. The Implementing Agencies, such as KVIC, KVIBs and DICs will associate with different Non Government Organizations (NGOs)/reputed autonomous institutions/Self Help Groups (SHGs)/ National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC)/Udyami Mitras empanelled under Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana (RGUMY), Panchayati Raj institutions and other relevant bodies in the implementation of the Scheme. Here training, formally or informally, plays a crucial role for success for the schemes.It is also observed that women’s participation has also increased for Khadi training from 52% to 82.1%. But the women’s participation fell from 47% to 30.9% and from 41.5% to 20% for Village industries and Other EAP/EDP trainings respectively. Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Orissa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttaranchal and UP are the main states where KVIC imparts maximum number of trainings.

Tool Room & Training Centers (DC, MSME): Govt. of India has set up a few Tool Room & Training Centers of large size involving estimated cost of over Rs. 50 crores each, in order to provide facilities for design and manufacture of tools. Govt. of India have decided to assist the State governments by setting up Mini Tool Room and Training Centers.

The main objective of the Mini Tool Room & Training Centers would be-

• Manufacturing jigs, fixtures, cutting tools, gauges, press tools, plastic moulds, forging dies, pressure casting dies and other tools for Small Scale Industries. To provide training facility in tool manufacturing and tool design to generate a work force of skilled workers, supervisors, engineers/designers etc.
• To work as a Nucleus Centre for providing consultancy, information service, documentation etc, for solving problems related to tooling of industries in the region. And to act as a Common Facility Centre for small scale industries and to assist them in product and prototype development.

National Manufacturing Competitive Council (NMCC): This Body was set up by Govt. of India in the year of 2004 as a part of National Common Minimum Program to help in accelerated growth of GDP, primarily focusing on manufacturing Industry. According to the strategy for National Manufacturing-2006, vocational training plays a key role on this. According to a report by NMCC, if Indian manufacturing has to grow at around 12 percent per annum, it will be necessary for the education and training system to produce at least 1.5 million technically skilled people every year. It is estimated that the country would need an incremental requirement of about 20 million skilled technicians by 2015.

To support the growth of manufacturing, the policy highlights of NMCC on vocational training system are:

• The public sector driven initiative, through The Apprentices Act, 1961 and ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) has not been able to keep pace with changing requirements. So we need to be taken care of the up-gradation of the Industrial Training Institutes through public-private partnerships, with training authorities de-linked from certifying ones.
• To initiate some PPP mode operations to establish and operate new demand driven technical training centres through financial and other incentives, with designed industry-managed and government supported, quality control and accreditation systems.
• Two major themes to be taken up on priority basis, namely; ‘National Vocational Education Qualification System’ and setting up a Vocational Education & Training Institute in each State.
• Private sector manufacturing/engineering organizations will be encouraged to adopt Vocational Education Institutes to meet the challenges. The diploma-holders form the backbone of the manufacturing sector at the ‘hands on’ level. But for keeping focus on the rapid changes in manufacturing technology it is essential that the polytechnic institutions be strengthened both in terms of the equipment and teaching faculty; with curricula changing to match the emerging needs of the manufacturing sector.

CAPART (Council for Advancement of Rural Technology): CAPART is playing a crucial role in implementing development activities through funding of different voluntary organizations. These voluntary organizations help rural people to enhance livelihood by giving them support through different modes of vocational training and related activities. CAPART has been formed byamalgamating the 'Council for Advancement of Rural Technology' (CART) and ‘People's Action for Development India’ (PADI). CAPART is an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860, under the aegis of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and it has been a major promoter of rural development in India, assisting over 12,000 voluntary organizations.

SRI, Ranchi (Society for Rural Industrialization): This society has major programme to impart training for the rural people. It mainly focuses on skill development of village youths. Training of trainers and management training are offered to other organizations including the government. The skill training includes courses on communication, personality building and enterprise management. It also offers short training courses on programme management for various National schemes for functionaries of NGOs and of Governments. SRI’s tie up with Indian Institute of Science, IIT-Kharagpur and CBRI-Roorkee on cost-effective construction is well known.

Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission: Ramakrishna Math was established by Sri Ramakrishna(1836-1886). Ramakrishna Mission is a society (registered) in which monks and devotees of Ramakrishna Math cooperate in conducting various types of social services, mainly in India. It was founded by Sri Ramakrishna's chief apostle, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), one of the foremost thinkers and religious leaders of the present age. Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are legally and financially separate from each other but they are closely inter-related in several other ways, and are to be regarded as twin organizations. Vocational training is one of their most valuable inputs in development activity. The rural and tribal activities are mainly classified as: (i) General; (ii) Agricultural; (iii) Educational and Self-reliance training; and (iv) Medical. Within the classification of Educational and self-reliance training, free schools are run for children. Adult and non-formal education centers have been set up. Audio-visual shows, farmers’ fairs and the like are also organized. And a major activity is to help the formation of self-help groups and training schemes are organized for teaching lathe-turning, carpentry, bee-keeping, pisciculture, dairy-farming and poultry-farming, weaving, incense-stick rolling, etc to enable the rural and tribal community to achieve minimum livelihood. (Details available on: http://www.belurmath.org )

Some other institutes which impart vocational training like Gandhi Ashram in Wardha and Madurai are also important in this field. We could name a few like Nanaji Deshmukh and many other personalities who had done remarkable work in the vocational education field in rural areas.

The Eleventh Plan has taken an initiative to launch a National Skill Development Mission that may bring some changes in ‘Skill Development’ programmes and initiatives. The Mission will be operative under Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development for apex level policy directions, and under the National Skill Development Coordination Board, and a National Skill Development Corporation/Trust. The State governments will engage some of their Departments/Agencies for constituting a State Skill Development Mission. Some chosen private sectors (mainly twenty high growth sectors), will play an important part as the private arm of the Mission with an outlay of Rs 22,800 crores.

Constituents of Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development and National Skill Development Coordination Board will be the following:

• Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development: Prime Minister as Chairman; Ministers of Finance, HRD, Industries, Rural Development, Labour & Employment and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation; Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission; Chairperson, National Manufacturing Competitive Council; Chairperson of the National Skill Development Corporation; six experts in the area of Skill Development as Members and Private Secretary to Prime Minister as Member-Secretary.
• National Skill Development Coordination Board: Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission as Chairman; Chairperson/Chief Executive Officer of the National Skill Development Corporation, Secretaries of Ministries of Finance, Human Resource Development, Labour and Employment, Rural Development, Housing and Employment, Rural Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation; Secretaries of Four States by rotation, for a period of two years, three Distinguished Academicians/Subject Area Specialists as Members and Secretary, Planning Commission as the Member-Secretary.

The National Skill Development Corporation will be constituted as Government Equity with a view to obtaining about Rs 15,000 crore from the public and private sectors, and other bilateral and multilateral sources for the promotion of skill development. It will act as a non-profit company under the Companies Act, with appropriate governance structures (board of directors being drawn from outstanding professionals/experts).

The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS): It has been set up as an advisory body for the informal sector to bring about improvement in the productivity of these enterprises and for generation of large scale employment opportunities on a sustainable basis, particularly in rural areas. (Details available at: http://nceus.gov.in).

Public Private Partnership (PPP): Major emphasis has been given on the PPP mode in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. It focuses on the following:

• Private Investment in Skill Training.
• National framework for domain specific standards and common principles.
• National database for location wise availability (and shortage) of skilled personnel will be established.
• The system should provide the options of multiple entry and exit points and total mobility between vocational, general and technical streams.
• Special emphasis on economically weaker section.
• To overcome the regional disparities due to diverse socio-economic factors, VGF approach would be adopted to address regional imbalances through PPP.

The eleventh five year plan also envisions setting up an Apex skill development institute which will take initiatives on programme testing, certification, curriculum setting faculty development, introduction of new elective courses in IITs /IIMs etc.