Why in the News
India finished 10th at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, China, entering the world’s top 10 for the first time with 26 medals, its largest haul. The result is presented as the return on patient investment in people, and as the case for a third investment discipline, ‘Skill-Ex’, alongside Capex and Opex.
What is WorldSkills, and how far has India climbed?
- WorldSkills Competition: Called the “Olympics of skills” and held every two years, it has over 1,400 young people from about 70 countries and regions perform practical tasks judged by international experts.
- Trades tested: Tasks run from welding and wiring to robotics and cyber security, rewarding workshop skill rather than examination marks.
- Earlier ranks: India rose from 39th in 2011 to 13th, a rank held until 2024, but its best earlier haul was four bronze medals.
- Shanghai result: India won six silver medals and 20 Medallions for Excellence.
- The takeaway: India’s best medals moved from bronze to silver, so the quality of its skilled workers, not only participation, is rising.
How did the medal winners reach Shanghai?
- New disciplines: India competed in 11 skills for the first time and won half its silver medals there: dental prosthetics, digital interactive media design and retail sales.
- IndiaSkills selection: Over 3.65 lakh young people registered for IndiaSkills, the national competition, across 63 skills. Entrants climbed from district to State and regional rounds.
- National finals: Regional contests narrowed the field to about 650 finalists in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The 70 chosen formed India’s largest ever team.
- Whole of government approach: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the States worked with industry experts to find and train the team.
What is ‘Skill-Ex’, and how does PM-SETU apply it?
- Capex and Opex: Nations measure progress in capital expenditure (Capex), the roads, ports and factories they build, and operating expenditure (Opex), the cost of running them.
- ‘Skill-Ex’: It means deliberate spending on the people who run those assets, because a road or factory stays productive only with skilled workers.
- PM-SETU: The Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) scheme, worth Rs 60,000 crore, upgrades 1,000 government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), which train young people in trades.
- Hub and spoke design: The upgraded ITIs are grouped as 200 hubs and 800 spokes, so each hub supports nearby smaller institutes. Industry partners manage each cluster.
Why should skilling be valued like a degree?
- Work as worship: Verse 18.46 of the Bhagavad Gita holds that a person attains perfection through their own work, so a craft practised with care is a virtue, not only a livelihood.
- Missing podium: Indian families celebrate toppers’ lists and merit ranks, but skilling has had no comparable place in public life.
- Changing perceptions: The Prime Minister met the winners, which tells families that a skills medal deserves the respect given to an examination rank.
Challenges
- Narrow formal base: Only 4.7% of India’s workforce has formal skill training, against 80% in South Korea, according to the NSDC.
- Weak placement: Only 18% of candidates trained under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) have secured jobs.
- Trainer shortage: Over 1 lakh trainer posts lie vacant in public and private ITIs, according to MSDE data.
Way Forward
- Industry spending: Employers should budget for Skill-Ex as seriously as for Capex and Opex.
- Skill mapping: Sector Skill Councils should align courses with changing job market demand.
- Outcome linked funding: Tie scheme funds to placement, wage gain and job retention through result based financing.
- Credit bridge: Align vocational credits with university credits so ITI students can move into higher education.
Conclusion
A structured selection and training ladder can turn ordinary workshop learners into world class craftsmen. Whether that quality reaches the millions trained in government institutes, measured in jobs and wages rather than medals, will decide whether skilling delivers a demographic dividend.
Government Initiatives for Skill Development
- Skill India Mission (2015): Trains and upskills the working age population through PMKVY, apprenticeships, community centres and ITIs.
- PMKVY 4.0: Short term youth skilling aligned with industry, adding future roles in artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 and green jobs.
- National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS): Promotes “earn while you learn” apprenticeships, with the government paying 25% of the stipend, up to Rs 1,500 a month.
- Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS): Offers non formal, community based skilling to non literates, neo literates and school dropouts.
Matching Previous Year Question
“[2018] Consider the following statements : Human capital formation as a concept is better explained in terms of a process which enables 1. individuals of a country to accumulate more capital. 2. increasing the knowledge, skill levels and capacities the people of the country. 3. accumulation of tangible wealth. 4. accumulation of intangible wealth. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (b) (b)2 only (c) (c)2 and 4 (d) 1, 3 and 4 ANSWER: (c)”
