Skill Development in Jharkhand: A Study of Government Initiative Schemes towards the same for the youth of the state

 

Dr. Shailendra Kumar Gupta

Asst. Director CSSDA Dhamtari, CG Govt. India Pin No. 493773.

 

ABSTRACT:

The skill development growth in the Jharkhand has witnessed rapid momentum in the past years. State has focused on opening relatively large size centres along with longer duration courses with focus on soft skills and OJT/Apprenticeship components. State government has also partnered with many agencies to set up skill development centres within college premises as well as many other premises to improve the employability of the youth of the state. Government has initiated skill development focused on Industry in partnership with leading global companies like Siemens and many more. As it is gaining scale and maturity, need for Skills Policy that weaves together all aspects in a comprehensive roadmap was acutely felt. This policy is being released at an opportune time and will enable rapid growth and improved outcomes for skill development and entrepreneurship interventions in the state especially for the youth. Government of Jharkhand is committed to enabling growth of the state through skilling the youth. A skilled and high productivity manpower base is a critical enabler in the growth of manufacturing, services and agriculture. It is also a critical intervention to harness the potential of ‘Demographic Dividend’ in a youthful state like Jharkhand. To give impetus to growth with scale, speed and standard, Government of Jharkhand has decided to frame a Skills Policy for the state of Jharkhand. This policy will be known as ‘Jharkhand Skills Policy’ and will be in force in the state.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

“If we have to promote the development of our country then our mission has to be `skill development’ and `Skilled India’. We have to create a pool of young people who can be entrepreneurs as well as job providers while those who does not have means to create job, can success over their counter parts in the world possessing high competency and skills. Today, Jharkhand is one of the youngest states in the country with more than 57% of its 3.3 crore population in the working age group of 15-59 years and around 70% below 35 years of age.

 

Being a recently formed independent State, Jharkhand faces peculiar economic and demographic challenges too. More than 75% of the population lives in rural areas and about 38% people belong to Marginalized section groups. On other hand, Jharkhand is a mineral rich state and has tremendous wealth of natural resources. Skill development interventions need to match jobs to skilling, generate wage premium, provide career paths through up skilling, re-skilling and recognition of prior learning and generate sustainable livelihood. It is imperative that the state benefits from demographic dividend potential. This is possible only through very well conceptualized policies and strategic roadmaps along with effective on the ground implementation of various interventions. It is critical that state government has policies, processes, procedures, innovation and technology as part of an effective implementation plan. This policy sets the bedrock of the very ambitious and critical task before us.

 

Skill Development is one of the most important focus areas of the Government. Government has committed to provide attractive and sustainable livelihood opportunities for youth. In this context, this policy is going to be a very important milestone. This policy will give right direction to improve the quality and quantity of jobs being offered to youth. Government focus will strongly remain on engaging with local industries and incubate barefoot entrepreneurship enterprises to provide livelihood opportunities to the youth of the state and this will significantly reduce unattractive and distress migration of the youth. Jharkhand Skill Development Mission Society is releasing “State Skill Policy” with lots of innovation and interventions which would be welcomed over coming years.

 

Skill development is at the cornerstone of all developmental activities of the Government of Jharkhand and it is an integral part of “Momentum Jharkhand”. Higher education and skill development in Jharkhand is undergoing significant changes towards bridging the skill gap. The policy has very rigorously identified key challenges of the state. Based on vigorous analysis of existing skill gap, youth aspiration will be further matched towards demand for jobs/self employment/ barefoot entrepreneurship opportunities etc. With this policy Jharkhand Government is providing a stimulus to the skilling ecosystem in the state and its contribution to Skill India Mission. Through integrating vocational education in our secondary and higher secondary educational system; we are making every effort to employability of youth. Initiatives like mega skill centres, centre of excellence, technical education institutions and skill universities will ensure horizontal and vertical mobility pathways in education system. Towards fulfillment of all these initiatives and goals, Government of Jharkhand has set up Jharkhand Skill Development Mission Society in the year of 2013 which is currently working under the Department of Higher, Technical Education and Skill Development, Government of Jharkhand. The society will be the flag bearer of all proposed initiatives under Jharkhand Skill Development Policy 2017. I foresee a bright future for the youth of Jharkhand who choose to join Mission Skill India and reap the benefits proposed in the policy document.

 

The Jharkhand Skill Development Mission is committed to improve the skilling ecosystem in the state and is the apex body responsible for all skill development activities, policies and programs within the State. It acts as the convergence platform for all other departments as well. The JSDM is determined to bring a robust up-liftment in skill development sector and is progressively working towards meeting their target of skilling 20 lakh people in the next five years, as it can be derived from their current and planned initiatives. One of the flagship initiatives undertaken by the Mission is the development of a policy on skill development for the state to address issues confronting state specific challenges for skill development, such as, industry-market symmetry, exclusion of marginalized groups, limited vertical/horizontal pathways between skills and formal education, raising profile of skills and making it aspirational for the youth and so on. This policy is centered on four main themes of developing capacity to match demand for skilled workforce; identifying and opening high potential sectors for economic growth and innovation; building and sustaining competencies for future labour market needs and convergence across schemes. A well-educated, skilled and motivated population will contribute to economic progress; promote greater equality and social inclusion in our society, as well as enhancing Jharkhand’s national and international reputation. The quality of outcomes are ensured by compliance to National Skill Quality Framework as well as collaborating with foreign education institutions to ensure skilling of youth to National and International standards. The progress on the implementation of this policy will be measured against the achievement of expected outcomes as well as creation of a competent workforce who would be appreciated as an asset by various industries. This progress will be measured through a variety of mechanisms including the Mission’s Annual Report.

 

Keywords of the study: Skill development in Jharkhand, Employment, skill gap study.

Objective of the study:

·       Government skill schemes report for the youth of the state.

·       Identify current and future skill gap report.

·       Skills and manpower requirement by the industry in the state.

·       Employment status of the state.

 

Jharkhand’s scenario:

Reaping Demographic Dividend:

Jharkhand is among the fastest growing economies in the country characterized by a young demography. The state is home for 57% population belonging to working age group (15-59 years) and around 70% below 35 years of age. Skill Development and barefoot entrepreneurship interventions are extremely critical to realize the potential of demographic dividend of the state (Chart 1).

 

Stock and Flow Analysis:

As is the case with most of the country, the census of 2011 for the State of Jharkhand reveals that the state is experiencing demographic dividend and there is a large chunk of population in the age group of 5-14 years which will become part of the labor force during the period 2012-2022. The graphic below represents this scenario.

 

Chart 1: Population by Age Group (In Lakhs)

Source: Census 2011

 

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Chart 2: Workforce Pyramid

Source: Census 2011

 

A large section of the population in Jharkhand even now does not engage in higher education. These include the illiterate population, dropouts from primary to higher secondary education and also include section of population which even after completion of education is not able to engage in gainful employment owing to deficiency of domain and work skills. Below mentioned graphic captures the stock and flow analysis of existing demographics of Jharkhand.

 

Stock indicates (Chart 3) the existing population of youth in the age group of 14-34 years (Reference Year 2017) who are not part of the Vocational/Educational system or Workforce or are minimally/semi-skilled and need skill training for gainful employment. Given the right enablement at this stage these youth can not only contribute to State’s output but also contribute to improved industrial productivity and competitiveness.

 

Figure 1: Stock Analysis

 

Flow includes (Figure 2) the population for the period 2017-22 and should be targeted for skill training.

 

Figure 2: Flow analysis

 

20.10 lakh populations (Figure 3) of minimally/semi-skilled workers can be targeted for their skills up gradation during the period. During the period 13.11 lakh school population can be targeted to help them make a carrier choice at an early stage. Target Group identified for skill training during the period of 2017-22 Following figure illustrates the potential sources and groups that can constitute the target for skill training including future projection for the stimulated time period in order to plan adequately.

 

Figure 3: Stock and Flow Summary

 

Current higher education (Chart 4) and Skill Development scenario: Jharkhand has shown a steady growth rate in GER at higher education level during period 2010-11 to 2015-16. In these 6 years Jharkhand has ensured phenomenal growth rate at 86% against national growth rate of 26 %. The increased GER can also be attributed to improved infrastructure availability for higher education in past decade. The numbers of colleges have increased from 187 to 328 during this period. Total college enrolment in the state is approximately 5.6 lakh.

 

Chart 4: Higher Education GER trend

Source: AISHE Table, 2015-16, MHRD    

 

Jharkhand currently targets (figure 4) skilling 20 lakh youth in the next five years.

 

Figure 4: Skill Development targets

 

Figure 5: Estimated Incremental Manpower Demand- Unorganized Sectors.

Source: Deloitte Analysis

 

According to the above (figure 4), the state government of Jharkhand will be going to skill some around 20 lakh youth in the state in next five years. JSDMS will skill 12 lakh and other government departments will skill rest of the youth.

 

According to the above (Figure 5), total incremental manpower demand of the state is some around 3253027  in Unorganized sector, in which total manpower demand in primary sector is 59138, secondary sector is 1731292 and Tertiary sector is 1462597. Figure shows that in secondary sector there is huge demand of manpower in the state followed by tertiary sector and primary sector.

 

Figure 6: Estimated Incremental Manpower Demand – Organized Sectors

Source: Deloitte Analysis

 

As per above (Figure 6) it is clearly shows that the demand of incremental manpower in organized sector during 2012-17 is high than the 2017-22.

Cumulative Estimated Incremental manpower demand (chart 1)  by 2012-22

 

Chart 5: Sector wise breakup (Pie chart)

 

Chart 6: Work force – 2022

Source: Deloitte Analysis

 

 

Figure 7: Estimated Incremental Manpower Supply 2012-22

Source: Deloitte Analysis

 

Chart 7: Estimated Incremental Skill Gap 2012-17

 

 

Source: Deloitte Analysis

 

Chart 8: Estimated Incremental Skill Gap 2012-22

 

Source: Deloitte Analysis

 

Figure 8: Percentage of Upper Secondary Students in TVET and General Education Programs.

Source: National Centre for Education and Economy, Washington, 2014

 

The incremental deficit of manpower in skilled and semi-skilled category is about 3.24 lakhs, which can be met by skilling the excess manpower in the minimally skilled category.

 

The State need to skill about 5.8 lakh persons to meet the demand of skilled manpower.   

 

Current interventions:

Jharkhand Skill Development Mission Society (JSDMS) was set up in 2013 as the nodal entity for all Skill Development initiatives in the state. JSDMS has picked up momentum in the last year with launching of following interventions

a)     Saksham Jharkhand Kaushal Vikas Yojana

b)    Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kaushal Kendra (Mega Skill Centre)

c)     Employability Excellence with College Education and Learning (Excel)

d)    Centre of Excellence

e)     Partnership with ITE, Singapore

 

Demand:

NSDC Skill Gap study estimates total incremental manpower demand in organized sector of Jharkhand in the duration 2017-2022 is around 32 lakhs. In addition, unorganized sector will require an incremental manpower of around 11 lakhs in the same period. The immensely successful Momentum Jharkhand Summit and subsequent efforts are estimated to lead to incremental manpower demand of around 6 lakhs.

 

Key Challenges:

Key challenges facing the skill development ecosystem in the state has been listed below:

a)     Improving outcomes

b)    Expanding skill infrastructure with scale and speed

c)     Strengthening the skill development ecosystem

d)    Improving aspiration for skill development

e)     Incubating barefoot entrepreneurs

 

Vision:

To be the engine of sustainable economic growth in the state by providing highly skilled and productive manpower for the industries and sustainable livelihood and entrepreneurial opportunities to the youth.

 

Mission:

To create a high performing skill development and barefoot entrepreneurship ecosystem aligned with national and international standards. The State is committed to skilling of 20 lakh youths from across the varied geographies of Jharkhand by 2022 through establishing robust institutional mechanisms and developing state of the art training infrastructure.

 

Objectives of Jharkhand Skill Development Policy:

The skills development policy will be targeted towards five main objectives:

·       Quality outcomes: To ensure quality outcomes in terms of both quality and quantity of placements. Improved placement rates along with salary levels of more than INR 12,000 per month is one of the key objectives of Jharkhand Skill Development ecosystem.

·       Training infrastructure creation with scale and speed: Given the ambitious target of the state to skill 20 lakh youth in next five years, it is imperative that aspirational and high-quality standard training infrastructure is created with scale and speed.

·       Ensure high performing training ecosystem: To incubate, grow and sustain ecosystem enablers like mobilization and counseling support, Train the Trainer academies, Placement Centres, Industry engagement, research centres in skill development, etc.

·       Building and sustaining competencies for future labour market needs: To be ready for jobs of future by imparting necessary knowledge, skills and competency in emerging technologies and business models.

·       Incubate nano enterprises: To incubate, grow and sustain nano enterprises through barefoot entrepreneurship incubation centres. To create a robust barefoot entrepreneurship ecosystem encompassing skill development, entrepreneurship training, supply chain linkages, credit linkages, market linkages, mentorship, etc.

 

Policy Features:

The feature of this policy has been included below:

1.     Scope:

2.     Geographical coverage:

3.     Demand/Skill Gap:

4.     Mobilization/Youth Aspiration:

5.     Making Skill Development Aspirational:

6.     Skill Development Infrastructure Creation:

7.     Incentives for Capacity Creation:

8.     Embedding Skills in Academic Education:

9.     Vocationalisation of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education:

10. Preparing for Industry 4.0:

11. Convergence:

12. Apprenticeship:

13. Industry engagement:

14. Quality of Trainers:

15. Barefoot Entrepreneurship:

16. Migration Centres:

17. Mandatory hiring of NSQF certified youth trained in Jharkhand:

18. Adoption of National Skill Ecosystem:

19. International Collaboration:

20. Placement:

21. Overseas Placement of Skill Youth from Jharkhand:

22. Driver Training Institutes:

23. NOS/QP/ Curriculum and Content:

24. Inclusion:

25. Target Age group of trainees:

26. Increasing stake of trainees:

27. Innovative projects in skill development and entrepreneurship:

28. Empanelment of Training Service Providers:

29. CSR activity in Skill Development:

30. Rewarding Bulk Employers:

31. Skills Summit every alternate year:

32. Capacity building of Skill Development Ecosystem:

 

Figure 9: Projected investment of the state on skill and entrepreneurship development.

 

According to the above figure govt of Jharkhand is investing huge amount for skilling youth of the state. By every year the investment is going high and high and also increasing the number of youth to be skilled.

 

Figure 10: Skill infrastructure required.

 

Figure 11: Projected earning of the state from skill and entrepreneurship development.

 

 

Figure 12: Employment Report of Jharkhand (all sectors).

(Note: B+G+H= 100 and C+D+E+F=100)

Chart 8: Employment Report of Jharkhand

 

Figure 13: Employment report of Jharkhand as per employment exchange department of the state.

 

Chart no. 9: Enrollment Report.

 

As per the above Chart 7, 236193 youth of the state has been enrolled in the employment exchange department of the state. In which 193581 youths are male and rest i.e. 42612 are females.

 

Chart no. 10: Recruitment Report.

According to the above Chart 8, 38914 youth are recruited in many firms, company and other agencies. The recruitment has been conducted through Rojgar melas as well as Camp. 9612 candidates get employed in Camp and 29302 get employed in Rojgar melas.

 

Chart no. 11: Employer Report.

 

Employment exchange department of the state government of Jharkhand has 1000 verified employers and 441 nonverified employers in total 1441 employers, those all are registered and provide employment to the unemployed youth of the state.

 

Figure 14: Unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in India and Jharkhand.

 

FINDINGS:

·       State govt planning for the skill development in the state is looking very good for the youth.

·       Skill development policy included more than 30 major points.

·       These points will be reviewed by the govt of Jharkhand for better implementation of the skill development program in the state.

·       Govt is targeting some around 20 lakh youth to be skilled in next five years and earning power should reach above rs.12000 per month for every youth.

·       Investment required in skill development in huge for next five years.

·       Need huge infrastructure for better skill development and better employment in the state.

·       Earning capacity of the skilled manpower will increase by good ratio.

·       The incremental deficit of manpower in skilled and semi-skilled category is about 5 lakhs.

·       Cumulative Estimated Incremental manpower demand by 2022 is around 44 lakh.

·       Cumulative Estimated Incremental manpower supply by 2022 is around 46 lakh.

·       Population is currently existing that can be targeted for skill training in the state is around 61.56 lakh.

·       Population that will be added in the period of 2017-22 and can be targeted for skill training is around 20 lakh.

·       Target for Skilling (Age group 14-17years) children out of school is around 22.49lakh.

·       Population from the age group 18-23 years who are out of higher education system is around 36.56 lakh.

·       Target for Skilling in the age group 24-34, are willing/looking for employment and are unemployed is around 2.51 lakh.

·       1441 employers registered with the govt of Jharkhand for better employment.

·       Enrollment of the youth in the state is good, but employment ratio is little bit low according to enrollment.

·       Rojgar melas are better tool to provide employment in the state.

·       Male candidates are more interested to enroll for employment than the female candidates.

·       Unemployed ratio is high.

·       Unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in Jharkhand is very lower with respect to India.

 

SUGGESTIONS:

·       Need very good strategy to monitor the skill development policy implemented by govt of Jharkhand. Rojgar melas is better tool to provide employment in the state.

·       Best skill development centres have to be developed in the state.

·       Govt of Jharkhand has to generate more employment for skilled manpower.

·       More employers have to be registered for huge employment.

·       Participation of the female candidates towards employment should be increased, for the same govt of Jharkhand has to work in mission mode.

 

CONCLUSION:

Govt of Jharkhand is playing a crucial role in skill development schemes for the youth of the state. Govt policy for the same is very good, they have very good roadmap. Jharkhand is committed to provide better skill development for all and the concerted efforts of the government have resulted in the state to increase its skilled rate quite impressively over the years. Govt has made significant strides in improving the quality of its skill development infrastructure during the last few years and planning for future also. This is in line with the statement of the state which says, “Skilling the youth of the state through better skill development policy for better development of the state. Skill development plays an important role in enhancing the capability of the people and in promoting human resource development for better availability of skilled manpower to the state. To create a high performing skill development and barefoot entrepreneurship ecosystem aligned with national and international standards. The State is committed to skilling of 20 lakh youths from across the varied geographies of Jharkhand by 2022 through establishing robust institutional mechanisms and developing state of the art training infrastructure.

 

REFERENCES:

1.      Source: Directorate of Employment and Training, Jharkhand and Department of Science and Technology, Jharkhand.

2.      Source: Directorate of Employment and Training.

3.      Jharkhand; Deloitte Analysis.    

4.      Source: Deloitte Analysis Employment in organized agriculture activities “ – “ Negligible Demand (<10).  

5.      Source: MSME State development report for Jharkhand 2015-16.

6.      Source: Census 2011 report Indian government for the year 2011.

7.      Source: National Centre for Education and Economy, Washington, 2014.

8.      Source: AISHE Table, 2015-16, MHRD Govt. Of India.        

9.      http://jharkhandrojgar.nic.in/chart_dashboard23.jsp.

10.   Source: AISHE Table, 2015-16, MHRD.

11.   Report of task force on poverty elimination in Jharkhand by rural development department of Jharkhand.   

12.   Source: Census 2011.

13.   Source: PHD Research Bureau, compiled from Economic Survey of Jharkhand, 2017-18.

 

 

Accepted on 26.09.2020           ©AandV Publications All right reserved