Umpteen opportunities for upskilling, reskilling and digital transformation

Basic challenge in higher education is how employability can be increased among educated youths in the country? Employability can be increased only through skilling interventions. There lies huge gap between available and required skills. Among skills, communication, technical, domain, IT and entrepreneurship skills are more important. Employability depends on factors like talent, content, skills, industry interface, innovation, creativity, collaboration, adaptation and right decision making.

Some of the sectors like digital technologies, automation, Electric vehicle technology, clean technologies, smart construction, infrastructure, energy, mechatronics, connectivity, biomedical engineering, health care and skill development. E commerce, e learning, data analytics, food processing, food retail, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, machine learning, cyber security, process automation and self-service capabilities will exhibit spectacular growth during the post Covid 19 phase.

Need of the hour is how Indian universities can respond to need for new skills? Why embedding skills education in teaching, learning and assessment creates more employable graduates? Which is the best practice for expanding and diversifying curricula for lifelong learning? How digital education can be made more accessible?

Covid 19 transformed as an equaliser and creates opportunities for new realities, change in mindset and irreversibility. Across the world job scenarios started transforming the industries.  Individuals after working for five years become redundant and interested to do skilling. Learn, relearn, upskilling and reskilling are emerging as the successful mantras across various industrial and services sectors.

Changing nature of workforce and future of work necessitates the need for reskilling and upskilling. Moreover, traditional education system is becoming inadequate in the changing context. It facilitates job prospects, new skills, remote working and digital transformation. Recently Individuals are taking the responsibility of skilling. 90 percent companies are investing more of their funds for skilling, digital technologies, lifelong learning, online and massive learning programmes.

Mind set of parents and students towards digital education is changing. Platforms are acquiring momentum. Students started showing interests in minor subjects. Industries are involved in facilitating upskilling and reskilling.

Concepts, theory, projects, industry collaborations, validated content, faculty development, digital transformation and research outputs play a key role in the skilling process. Skilling reduces the time lag to achieve employability. Skilling coupled with knowledge and attitude will facilitate employment.

Within the global context transformation is towards knowledge economy and digital technologies. Knowledge economy’s basic objective is to enhance economic wealth and growth. Innovation, creativity, collaboration, communication, human capital, knowledge and advanced technologies facilitate this transition. Digital transformation is moving at a faster pace in education, financial services, retail, manufacturing, automation, engineering services, marketing, food processing and agriculture. Decentralisation and technology enabled aggregation is moving at a faster pace.

New avenues like remote work opportunities, growth in services sectors, automation, data analytics, health analytics, caring, biomedical science, local entrepreneurship and start-up opportunities are emerging across the country as a sequel to Covid 19 disruptions. Three prong strategies for development of knowledge economy includes knowledge creation, dissemination and applications. These can be implemented in the form of centres of excellences, innovation, knowledge transformation & start-ups or platform model respectively. Digital workforce management system envisages strengthening knowledge generation sources and transformation towards knowledge economy. India requires continuous linkage between demand and supply, attempt to curate talent in tune with new age innovations & jobs, augmented skills training and enhancement of quality and access.

Skilling strategy include enhancing the skill provider ecosystem, strengthening the educational institutions, Career orientation, employment and industry participation. It requires governance, quality, trainers and infrastructure to provide high, medium and industry led knowledge skills. Industry collaboration models require aggregation of skill providers. Creation of demand depends on knowledge industries, digital transformation and innovation ecosystem. Models for sourcing jobs include direct market engagement and aggregation platforms. Design of skilling programme is envisaged as a collective and comprehensive effort of multiple stakeholders, Process integration and data share, Supplementing and aggregating existing solutions and creating platform of platforms.

Dr.T.P.Sethumadhavan

Education & Career Consultant