At present, developed countries don’t have the demographics to support their labor market and will need to depend on the rest of the world. India has a working population of 400.7 million with a thriving education sector. India’s demographic dividend can be leveraged to meet the requirements of developed countries across diverse sectors. For the last 30 years or so, India’s youth have been part of the workforce across the Middle East, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Yet the proportion of formally skilled workers in India is extremely low, at 4.69% of the total workforce, compared to 24% in China, 52% in the US, 68% in the UK, 75% in Germany, 80% in Japan, and 96% in South Korea. Hence, the skills ecosystem should not only cater to the existing Indian industry requirements but should have a definite room for the international placement of the Indian workforce. Changing the employment landscape post-COVID-19 has led to a rise in both onsite and remote work.
The nearest European country is more than 4300 km away from India. This distance from Europe is one reason why a significant proportion of migration from India takes place to countries like the UAE, Malaysia, etc.
The Indian government has taken notable initiatives including MoUs with developed economies on labor mobility, e-Migrate, Indian Community Welfare Fund, Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras, and Pre-Departure Orientation Programmes. The proposed Emigration Bill, 2021 will constitute the core of enabling framework for institutional support.
Suggestions for International Placement
1. NSDC is making efforts to align and recognize the Indian Occupational Qualifications Training and Certification at the destination countries. This is a long-term effort to match NSQF-level corresponding job roles in both countries. A unified system for formalizing a variety of skills acquired through both formal and informal learning should also be mapped to the European Qualification Framework (EQF).
2. The better approach will be creating assessment and certification centers in accordance with standards recognition of awarding bodies of destination countries. Presently, only Singapore has testing centers in India where candidates interested in migrating to the nation can get their applications processed and skills verified locally instead of flying to Singapore for the attestation and recognition of skills.
2. There must be the creation of the TVET (technical and vocational education and training) programs with an Indian partner for the implementation and a foreign entity as a knowledge partner. This will ensure the quality of the curriculum with a lower cost of operations. The pricing pressure on such TVET programs will be huge as Indian universities are offering similar courses in vocational studies. TVET program must ensure good placement as the cost incurred by the candidates must be recoverable within 2-3 years post the course completion.
3. Any TVET program offering global certification to the candidates must lead a clear path to global exposure. This can be done either through apprenticeship or an opportunity to study/upskill in the destination countries.
4. Poor knowledge of the language of the destination countries creates a major gap between the aspiration of youth and the reality on the ground. Skill development programs and language training programs must be linked to the formal education system through a unified skills and education qualification framework. This will change the negative public perception of TVET courses.
5. JIM Japan India Institute for Manufacturing - Japanese companies in India are also supporting young Indian talent in acquiring the concepts and skills of Japanese manufacturing by using existing factories and facilities to develop future shop floor leaders. Such an arrangement can be extended with MNCs operating in diverse sectors.
6. Migration of students to study in destination countries can help build skills that may otherwise be difficult to acquire in India. The mobility of students should be promoted and pathways must be explored for their stay as a workforce in destination countries.
