‘Future of Jobs in India-2.0’

Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan has called for a collective introspection on the changing nature of job profiles.

He has also urged those responsible for fashioning public policy to zero in on the nature of future jobs and where they would be available.

Internet, he said, was changing the character of the workplace at a frenetic pace, and therefore, policy shapers need to astutely comprehend the jobs scenario.

Inaugurating the 11th Global Skills Summit, 2018, on 15 Sept in New Delhi,Pradhan said the belief that technology and innovation were squeezing the job space was a myth.

While some jobs were being squeezed, a multi-fold increase was being witnessed in many other sectors due to technological innovation, he pointed out.

The summit was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

India, he said, was blessed with intellectual manpower, and the time was ripe to channelize this asset into creation of gainful employment for the people endowed with the right type of skills.

On the occasion, the Minister released two knowledge reports titled, ‘Future of Jobs in India-2.0’ and ‘Employer-led Models of Job Creation- Version:2’.

The summit also witnessed the launch of initiatives such the future skills courses by NSDC; digital platform for blue collar skilling ecosystem by Betterplace and rural e-commerce distribution system by Connect India.

Whistling Woods Founder and Chairman Subhash Ghai said the first priority for the country was to train the trainers so that the skilled workforce could apply the knowledge acquired productively.

“We need to transit for being believers to seekers of knowledge”, even as he emphasised the importance of intelligence over knowledge.

FICCI Skill Development Committee Chairman and Manipal Global Education Chairman T. V. Mohan Das Pai said that the biggest change will be wrought by the change in the demographic profile of the country and the advances in technology.

India, he said, will witness 24 million people reach the age of 21 by 2025 and the challenge will be to absorb them in productively in the workforce.

Bijay Sahoo, Co-Chair, FICCI SDC & President, HR, Reliance Industries, said that jobs are being created in emerging technologies. “Healthcare and hospitality are creating maximum number of jobs in the world,” he added.

FICCI’s ‘Future of Jobs in India-2.0’ proposes to analyse five more sectors in the second phase of the study that was conducted in 2017.

These proposed sectors together form the foundation of India’s socio-economic development. The sectors include: Healthcare, Construction, Tourism & Hospitality, Education, and Transportation & Logistics.

The proposed study will be an endeavour towards analysing the five sectors in detail and presenting a holistic perspective on three counts: analysing the major trends impacting the sectors, identifying the key skilling needs, and recommending a strategy towards developing the workforce of the future.

The report on ‘Employer-led Models of Job Creation- Version: 2’, a FICCI Skill Development Committee Working Group Initiative, notes that with its demographic advantage and a new home-grown culture of start-ups, India aspires to become a global human resource hub.

However, it will require a conscious effort on the part of the Government, Industry, Academia and all other key stakeholders to holistically engage with each other.

It may help in targeting expenditure on initiatives, developing today’s curriculum for tomorrow’s workforce, adopting best practices from across the globe, bringing necessary changes in regulation of FDIs and easy funding for new innovation and models of job creation.

It states that in this 21st century world, India has the potential to lead the innovation and create better livelihood opportunities.

This is possible only through an ‘ENGAGE-ing’ atmosphere, which can be captured as Ensuring Reskilling and Upskilling; Nurturing Young Talent; Government’s thrust on better Policy Formation and Implementation; Academic-Industry Engagement; Going Global: Adopting Best Practices and Encouraging Entrepreneurship. fiinews.com