Skilling India: An Aspirational Challenge
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As of 31 March 2015, across 28 Sectors,
standards for 1319 job roles pegged at
NSQF levels 1 to 8 have been defined by
the Sector Skill Councils. Fourteen SSCs
have covered development of 80 per cent
of entry level workforce QPs. These and
NOSs have been developed in association
with industry (Figure 6.6). The adoption of
these norms is slowly being incorporated
into training eligibility criteria by the train-
ing establishments. The challenge is in
disseminating the standards to the training
institutions and making them understand
the differentiated levels in each skill set.
Trainer training and competence building
is a necessary corollary to the implemen-
tation of the NSQF standards. More than
trainees, the teachers will require consid-
erable competence building to make the
NSQF work.
Standards Training Assessment and
Reward (STAR):
The government started a
scheme titled STAR during 2013–14 tomoti-
vate a large number of youth to voluntarily
join skill development programmes. The
NSDC implemented the scheme wherein
on successful completion of training and
obtaining a certificate, every candidate was
provided with a monetary reward of an
average of
`
10,000/-.
The NSQF is a competency-based framework
that organises all qualifications according to a
series of levels of knowledge, skills and apti-
tude. The NSQF is anchored in the NSDA and
is being implemented through the National
Skills Qualification Committee (NSQC). These
levels, graded from one to ten, are defined in
terms of learning outcomes which the learner
must possess regardless of whether they are
obtained through formal, non-formal or
informal learning. NSQF in India was notified
on 27th December 2013. All other frameworks,
including the National Vocational Educational
Qualification Framework (NVEQF) released
by the Ministry of HRD, stand superceded by
the NSQF.
TheNOSspecifythestandardofperformance
an individual must achieve when carrying out
a function in the workplace, together with the
knowledge and understanding they need to
meet a standard consistently. EachNOS defines
one key function in a job role. Each NOS must
be a concise and readable document, usually
consisting of no more than five or six pages
(some are only one or two). In their essential
form, NOS describe functions, standards of
performance and knowledge.
The NOS are laid down by employers
(through their SSCs). A set of NOS, aligned to a
job role, called Qualification Pack (QP), is to be
available for every job role ineach industry sector.
These drive both the creation of curriculum,
and assessments. Thus NSQF will theoretically
make it possible to drive competency based
training for every job role in industry. It would
be possible for all current vocational courses,
like MES, ITI Courses, or similar vocational
courses in schools, colleges and polytechnics to
be aligned to job roles at specific NSQF Levels.
An ITI course in plumbing will need to declare
they are training for plumbers at NSQF Level
3. Similarly a polytechnic, training in fashion
design, may say it is training for NSQF Level 5
for Garment Cutters.
Key benefits expected out of such initiative
are:
a. Mobility between vocational and general
education by alignment of degrees with
NSQF,
b. Recognition of Prior Learning, allowing
transition from non-formal to organised
job,
c. Standardised, consistent, nationally
acceptable outcomes of training across
the country,
d. Global mobility of skilled workforce from
India, through international equivalence
of NSQF,
e. Mapping of progression pathways within
sectors and cross-sectorally,
f. Approval of NOS/QPs as national stand-
ards for skill training.
By December 2016, adoption of these norms
will be mandatory for accessing government
funding for skill training. The recruitment rules
of the GoI and PSUs of the central government
shall be amended to define eligibility criteria
for all positions in terms of NSQF levels. By
December 2018, it will be mandatory for all
training courses to be NSQF compliant.
Source:
NSDC.
Box 6.4:
Skill standards and certification
