A recent report states that around 27.3 million workers, or 7% of India’s workforce, will require training in digital skills for their future jobs within the next year. Titled ‘Building Digital Skills for the Changing Workforce’, this report has been prepared by AlphaBeta and commissioned by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It underlines the need for enhanced cloud computing skills, such as machine learning and cloud architecture design, which are projected to be among the top digital skills demanded by employers in India by 2025.
Understanding Digital Skills
Digital skills refer to the abilities required to use digital devices, communication applications, and networks to access and handle information. These skills range from basic online searching and emailing to advanced programming and development. It is important to note that having digital skills is not the same as possessing an education in the classic STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines.
Challenges in Achieving Digital Skilling
India faces several hurdles in its path towards achieving comprehensive digital skilling. Currently, educational institutions across the country lack sufficient infrastructure to meet the vast demand for skilled labor. The mindset surrounding skill development remains traditional, and enrolling students in vocational education and training programs is extremely challenging. Furthermore, there is a lack of buy-in from the corporate sector for such initiatives, which hampers their progress.
Skills Mismatch and Barriers to Digital Skilling
There is a significant lack of interaction between industry and faculty, leading to a mismatch between the skills provided by educational and training institutes and employers’ requirements. Consequently, many skilled individuals are unable to secure employment. The report also highlights several barriers to acquiring digital skills, including lack of time for training, limited awareness of training options, low quality of training, and high training costs.
Digital Skilling Initiatives in India
Various initiatives have been launched to enhance digital skilling in the country. These include DigiSaksham initiative, YuWaah Platform, IndiaSkills 2021, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Recognition of Prior Learning, National Career Service Project, Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood (SANKALP), Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors’ (YUVA) scheme, Kaushalacharya Awards, Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills (SHREYAS), Atmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM), Skill Certification, and National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
Way Forward: Skilling at Scale
There is an urgent need for governments to collaborate with employers, training providers, and workers to address the diverse and growing digital learning needs. Skilling on a massive scale must become a national priority if India is to emerge as a global powerhouse for developing technological talent. Given India’s significant demographic dividend, it has the potential to supply highly skilled manpower to the labor market, provided all stakeholders coordinate their efforts effectively. To strengthen the skill ecosystem, traditional barriers must be broken down, allowing for learning while earning, flexible delivery of learning, and alignment with qualification modularity.
UPSC Civil Services Examination Questions (PYQs)
The remainder of this article, presents some questions related to this topic that have appeared in previous years’ UPSC Civil Services Examination. Here, candidates can see their need for promoting skill development, understanding schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and the ‘Recognition of Prior Learning Scheme’. The aim is to fully harness the benefits of demographic dividend and align the competencies of the country’s workforce to the National Skill Qualification Framework.