The main terminal stages in the general education system are secondary and higher secondary education. This is because the students take important decisions about their career at these points. They have many options like to pursue higher education, join the work force, opt for technical training etc.  Vocational education provides training for jobs that are based on traditionally non-academic, manual or practical activities, occupation, or totally related to a specific trade. In this system of education, the trainees get expertise by themselves in a specific group of techniques. So, the vocational education is also referred to as technical education. The practical courses included in the vocational education helps the students to gain experience and skills that are needed for their career in future. As soon as they finished the course, most of the students are offered placements in jobs. It is a fact that most of the employers look for candidates with work related experiences. The training in vocational education help the students to acquire such work related experiences.

Objectives of Vocational Education

The goal of vocational educational in India is to enhance skilled manpower through various courses to meet the requirements of the unorganised sector. It also aims at inculcating self-employment skills in people through several self-employment related courses. Vocational education in India is conveyed through polytechnics and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). Some of the vocational courses are Cutting/Tailoring & Dress Making, Library Assistant, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Secretarial Practices, Typewriting, Computer Operator and Programme Assistant, Stenography, Electrical Technician, Plumbing, Fruit and Vegetable Preservation Programs, Architectural Draughtsman ship, Electrical Technician, Desk Top Publishing, Electronics (Radio/TV/Tape Recorder Mechanic), etc. Today, the Indian economy lacks skilled people. This happens mainly due to neglect of vocational education. On the basis of the recent survey, the main reason for unemployment is the shortage of marketable skills.

Advantages of Vocational Education

The advantages in imparting vocational education and training are listed below.

• Build up a work force of international quality.
• Reduce unemployment by providing world-class knowledge to people.
• Prepare the youth for a career of their choice.
• Provide skilled people thereby reducing cost and enhance the productivity of services and manufacturing.
• Supply millions of trained people in floriculture, agriculture, sericulture, fishery, horticulture, tourism, healthcare and in the manufacturing sector.

Importance of Vocational Education

The university degrees were not necessary for most of the occupations. These jobs could be performed by trained higher secondary aspirants. It should be made possible to divert at least half of the students completing their 10th to the vocational stream. Then only the pressure on the universities will get reduced. Besides, this will help the students for profitable employment. Every year in India, more than 6 lakh engineering degree holders and about two million graduates pass out of colleges. Among these engineering graduates, approximately two-thirds of the total need to be re-skilled. Otherwise they would not get any jobs in the industry. In the mean time, this developed world requires skilled workers and professionals. A survey report says that there will have a shortage of 40 million working people in the developed world. This shortage can disable the economic growth which in turn shoots up the wage rates thereby reducing the competitiveness of these countries.

Role of public and private institutions

Many private institutes offer vocational training accredited to recognised industry bodies by realizing the need for skilled manpower in the country. These institutes also promise better placements for their students. In recent years, the government of India has given a lot of importance on streamlining vocational education.  This initiative can fulfil the rising need of the market by aiming on employability skills. Vocational education in India is offered by polytechnics and industrial training institutes. In India, vocational training is widely referred to certificate level crafts training for the students who leave school after 10th or 12th standards. Compared to other states, India has less number of industrial training institutes and polytechnics.

Imparting vocational education at the secondary stage of schooling has achieved only partial success. This is because the students mostly prefer general courses like art and science at +2 level. These students constitute the major part of the qualified unemployed youth in India. A systematically planned and effectively implemented vocational education system will facilitate the unemployed youth to take up some useful career.

New strategies launched by Government

Recently, a new strategic partnership (MoU) has been launched to strengthen instructor training and vocational education curriculum in India. This collaboration focuses at the recognition of India’s need in increasing the numbers of skilled and educated young candidates. These candidates are more suitable to compete in a knowledge-based and increasingly globalised economy. The objective of the MoU is to implement, evaluate, develop, and monitor a technical trade instructor training program and instructional materials related to them. The team aims to scale-up nationally. The partners of this association are the Jindal Education Initiatives (JE), Montgomery College, and the Wadhwani Foundation.

The Wadhwani Foundation will focus on faculty development, courseware and curriculum development, and facilitating technology platform. With a mutual agreement on cost recovery model, Montgomery College will provide the technical expertise. JE offers fully-equipped trade instructor training facility and recruitment. Jindal Education Initiatives had started many community colleges in various parts of the country. The OP Jindal Community College (OPJCC) colleges provide many diploma programmes and vocational education certificates. These diplomas and certificates are recognized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development. The college is registered under the IGNOU Community College Scheme. The OPJCC aims to enroll more than 100,000 vocational education students over the next 5 years.

Jindal Educational Initiatives had launched a partnership with Montgomery College in USA. This partnership demanded workforce enhancement curricula in construction management, automotive technology, and building trades. This acted as an initiative to build significant capacity in the vocational education sector in India. A similar initiative was launched by Wadhwani Foundation in the last year which is called “Wadhwani Skills Colleges.” It focuses at creating capacity for vocational education of three million students linked to industry. The MoU was the latest launch signed at a glittering event in Delhi. We can hope for its success. If so, India will definitely shine in the unorganized sector.