2012/ED/EFA/MRT/PI/34

Background paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2012

Youth and skills: Putting education to work

National skills development strategies and the urban informal sector: the case of India

Ratna M. Sudarshan

2012

This paper was commissioned by the Education for All Global Monitoring Report as background information to assist in drafting the 2012 report. It has not been edited by the team. The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to the EFA Global Monitoring Report or to UNESCO. The papers can be cited with the following reference: “Paper commissioned for the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2012, Youth and skills: Putting education to work” For further information, please contact efareport@unesco.org

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National skills development strategies and the urban informal sector: the case of India

Ratna M. Sudarshan

Abstract

The skills development infrastructure had been oriented towards the formal sector, however the

approach has been reviewed and substantially modified since 2007/8. The new approach formulated

by the National Mission on Skill Development has set a target for the country that would lead to

500 million persons or approximately 37 per cent of the population being skilled by 2022. To meet

this target much of the skill training will need to be of persons in the informal sector, both rural and

urban. Measures proposed include the setting up of new institutes, new courses, and introducing a

modular structure; placing emphasis on demand-driven training, encouraging involvement of

private corporate as well as non-governmental organizations at various stages; setting up a

dedicated fund to support training; encouraging convergence and co-ordination across ministries

and departments, and between state governments and the central government; and re-vamping the

TVET track in education in such a way that both horizontal and vertical mobility is possible and

that equivalence can be established between ‘general’ and ‘vocational’ certification at all levels.

The approach recognizes that wage employment will need to be supplemented with self

employment and hence emphasizes training in ‘bankable’ skills. It does not displace the existing

infrastructure or on-going schemes and training institutes, rather it seeks to introduce new energy

into the system: with constant review, more funding, more expertise, and many new players.

An assessment of the current and likely impact of the approach on the urban informal sector is

difficult largely because there is as yet little data and many of the changes have been recently

introduced or are still in the pipeline. It can be said that there are several examples of successful

though small scale efforts across the country. These allow one to recognize the potential of the new

approaches as well as the challenges that will need to be addressed in ensuring access to entry level

skills as well as to continuous skill upgradation for informal workers. The sustained growth of the

economy, opening up opportunities of regular employment as well as for new enterprise

development, is crucial both to the motivation and the likelihood of success of the systems being

put in place.

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Outline: Page

I. Introduction and brief overview of historical perspective on the informal sector and

TVET/skills development in India 3-4

II. The national skills development strategy: relevance to the needs of the urban informal

sector and potential impact on existing skills development opportunities 5-8

III. Recent policy initiatives towards the informal sector, including the NCEUS and legal

changes on street vending 9-11

IV. Training for home-based workers 12-14

V. Conclusion 15

Documents consulted, references 16-17

Endnotes 18-19

Annex 1: Projections of skill needs by 2022

Annex 2: Career Paths within domestic work

Annex 3: Qualifications by level across the NVEQF

Annex 4: Skill levels of 15-29 age group (NCEUS)

Annex 5: Needs and priorities of home based workers

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I. Introduction and brief overview of historical perspective on the informal sector and

TVET/skills development in India

High overall rates of growth of the Indian economy in the recent past have served to draw attention

to the gap that exists between the demand and supply of skilled workers. Based on an assessment

of the likely rates of growth of different sectors, the corresponding demand for skilled workers and

the current capacity of the TVET system, the Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill

Development has set a target of 500 million persons to be skilled by 2022.i That is, roughly 37 per

cent of the total population should be skilled in 2022. ii This target is to be met by addressing the

organized and unorganized sector workforce, and new entrants, through expansion of facilities for

training, co-ordination of efforts across ministries and departments, revision of courses and

curricula to be in line with the rapidly changing market and technological conditions, developing

strong partnerships with industry, encouraging the private sector and the non-governmental sector

to co-operate with the national effort, and developing equally clear focus within states. Having set

this target in the period of the Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) the existing approaches to skill

development are expected to change considerably over the next 10-15 years.

TVET in India has historically been 'state driven and supply led', focusing on organized

employment and the formal sector. It has been a shared responsibility with Technical Education

being the concern of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, and Vocational Training that

of the Ministry of Labour. In addition, more than 17 Ministries/ Departments of the Government

offer training through various programmes (CABE 2011). The ‘state driven’ nature of TVET has

not changed over the last few decades even though the share of private investment in the total has

gone up from being a little over half in the 1960s, to almost three quarters in the 2000s. Urban-

based and services-driven growth has been accompanied by persistent informality in employment -

the share of regular employment has gone up from 14% in 1983 to only 16% by 2007-08

(Himanshu 2011). Some industrial sectors are almost wholly informal (a good example being

agriculture, with the exception of plantations); a very small number may be wholly formal (public

administration for example); but in all other parts of the economy, informality constitutes the base

and formal enterprises the apex: informal workers are linked to formal production in a variety of

ways including outsourcing, contract work, etc. Women remain largely concentrated in low- end,

informal, traditionally-female occupations, even if the products of their work might be part of high-

value end products.

The main support for skill development of informal workers has been in rural areas through self-

employment programmes which include a component of capacity building along with access to

credit and income generating assets. Existing self-employment programmes have been restructured

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into one (the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana or SGSY) in 1999, and now merged into the

National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) launched in 2009-10. Rural Self-Employment

Training Institutes are being set up in all districts in the country. Broadly, the approach is to

organize groups of 10-15 persons each (‘self help groups’); offer training and capacity building to

the groups; through linkage with banks and some subsidized credit, encourage the acquisition of

income-generating assets and the setting up of micro enterprises. A sub set of the NRLM will focus

on placement based skills which aim to bridge the skill gap and entry level barriers for rural youth

from households below the poverty line.

Among government programmes focused on women in the informal sector, the Ministry of Women

and Child Development through its Support for Training and Employment Programme (STEP)

offers support for skill upgradation of women in informal employment in 8 selected sectors –

initially, agriculture, small animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries, handlooms, handicrafts, khadi and

village industries, sericulture; later, two more sectors, social forestry and waste land development,

were added. Started in 1986, the biggest achievement of this programme has been to give women

in dairying a strong position within that sector. Over the period 1986-90, official data shows that 44

percent of the grants sanctioned were for dairy, followed closely by handlooms with 38 percent

(ISST 2007). However after this period, the relative importance of dairy increased greatly, and

almost three quarters of the total amount sanctioned went to dairy. India’s small holder dairy

system has grown dramatically since 1970, when the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)

started its programme of ‘Operation Flood’, through which a National Milk Grid was set up and

village co-operatives linked to consumers across the country. The combination of an expanding

sector with subsidies provided to dairy co-operatives through the STEP programmes helped to make

visible, and remunerative, women’s work in dairying. Overall, an estimated 70 percent of the

labour force in livestock farming consists of women.iii The experience suggests that successful

marketing must accompany skills training.

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II. The national skills development strategy: relevance to the needs of the urban

informal sector and potential impact on existing skills development opportunities

'Skill development programmes have not served their purpose.' P.Chidambaram, Home

Minister, cited in Indian Express, Sunday August 21, 2011, page 21.

‘All these issues have received thoughtful consideration during the Eleventh Plan; now

operational details have to be worked out and specific initiatives launched during the Twelfth

Plan.’(12th Plan Approach paper)

a. The National Skills Development Strategy

The National Skill Development Mission, headed by the Prime Minister, was launched in 2008, and

a Co-ordinated Action Plan for Skill Development was formulated. A 3-tier structure has been

created to take forward this plan (GOI 2010). At its apex is the National Council on Skill

Development, chaired by the Prime Minister and responsible for policy advice, direction and

review. The core principles formulated by the Council are:

• Government money must target market failure: there is no need to crowd out or compete with private financing

• Decentralize; encourage and incentivize states to form skill missions

• Do not use money for buildings or hard assets

• Focus on modularity, open architecture, and short term courses; do not reimburse for courses more than six months

• Separate financing from delivery; make public money available for private and public delivery

• Link financing to outcomes; the overwhelming metric should be jobs

• Use candidates as financing vehicles rather than institutions; create choice and competition

• Create infrastructure for on-the-job training; encourage apprenticeships

• Create infrastructure for information asymmetry; publicize rating and outcome information for training institutions

• Infrastructure for effective entry/ exit gate; effective assessment and credible certification

• Restructure employment exchanges to career centres

The second tier, the National Skill Development Co-ordination Board, is chaired by the Deputy

Chairman, Planning Commission. It is expected to enumerate implementation strategies,

formulating operational guidelines, and evaluating schemes. State Skill Development Boards are to

be set up in each state, to address the specific problems of multiple interfaces with state

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governments in getting approvals for central and state skill development schemes. The third tier is

the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), set up as a non-profit company under the

Companies Act, and mandated to support training initiatives. It has an equity base of Rs 100

million, of which the private sector holds 51 percent, while the Government of India controls 49 per

cent. NSDC has identified 20 high-growth, high-employment sectors (10 in manufacturing and 10

in services) for concentrated skill development to train 150 million people by 2022, with a special

category added of the ‘unorganized sector’. iv This is an important addition, as special effort will be

needed to equip unorganized sector workers to access work in the growth sectors. Industry-led

Sector Skill Councils (SSC) will identify specific skill shortages and develop suitable training

modules. Several SSCs have been incorporated; others have been approved by NSDC and are in

process of incorporation. The National Skill Development Fund has been created by the Central

Government to support these activities, and three of the first proposals to be accepted have come

from diverse players: the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Confederation of Indian

Industry and the Self –Employed Women’s Association (GOI 2010: 208).

At the base of the training systems, government run Industrial Training Institutes and private sector

run Industrial Training Centres offer courses up to 24 months in different trades. A major criticism

of these has been limited employability due to curriculum rigidity and weak market responsiveness

following upon poor industry-institution linkages. A World Bank tracer study conducted in 2006

showed that less than 30 percent of ITI graduates found employment, and that employers wanted

different technical skills and stronger ‘soft’ skills: teamwork, innovativeness (World Bank

2007:11). Many new ITIs/ ITCs offering certification in different trades are proposed to be set up,

while the Vocational Training Improvement Project will upgrade 400 ITI’s into Centres of

Excellence with World Bank assistance, and another 100 with domestic resources.

The Skill Development Initiative Scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment started in

2007 focuses on modular skills for employability, and roughly half of those trained, tested and

certified under this scheme found employment by 2010 (GOI 2010: 213). An example of the

career paths being envisaged for domestic workers is illustrated in Annex 2. These domestic worker

modules have been developed with assistance from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). v

A Mission Mode Project for upgradation and modernization of employment exchanges, using

information technology, started in 2008.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India has proposed a

National Vocational Education Qualifications Framework (NVEQF) which will encourage

integration of vocational and general education (see Annex 3). Suitable curricula are being

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developed by the Central Board of Secondary Education and currently being piloted. It is proposed

that school children would be involved in vocational education from Class 9. The NVEQF would

set the principles for a nationally recognized qualification system, covering schools, vocational

education institutes and institutes of higher education and for qualifications ranging from secondary

school to doctorate level, leading to international recognition of national standards. The

involvement of Sector Skill Councils and Industry in the development of standards and curricula

would encourage linkage between education providers and employers. The transformation

envisaged is profound, from ‘an input based standards and supply led education system to an

outcome based demand driven education and training system.’vi Once in place, this may stimulate

the currently low demand for vocational education by strengthening the link with better paid work

opportunities.

Responding to this environment, a new initiative started in 2010 is that of ‘Community Colleges’

where IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University) in partnership with selected NGOs that

conduct the courses, provides certification for those who are unable to access regular educational

institutions.vii Community Colleges are to offer a 2-year curriculum that either leads to an

Associate Degree for transfer to an undergraduate college or to the students direct entry into any

occupation or trade. Although a large number of NGOs responded to the call for partnership in

2010, little information is yet available on who participates, and whether the system is able to

obtain steady funding and adequate infrastructure, including attracting trained teachers into a non-

governmental system.

Despite the tremendous expansion that is planned, TVET opportunities are not expected to lead to

regular salaried work for all; hence there is stress on ‘bankable skills’ for self-employment.

b. Skilling the urban informal workforce

Inclusion is an important aspect of the new approaches. The 11th plan suggested that ‘getting skill

development right’ would determine whether India has a 'demographic dividend' or a 'demographic

nightmare' viii, and many new initiatives have special focus on youth. Both private and government

skills training have so far been focused on entry level requirements. To a large extent the attitude of

workers mirrors the same priorities, with a very high demand for skills to enter a regular job. Skill

training as a continuous process over one’s lifetime will continue to be difficult for informal

workers if it requires absence from the workplace and is not directly sponsored by employers.

Challenges persist. Within high growth sectors, there can be non-economic reasons that limit

opportunities for informal workers in the urban economy. For example, the beauty industry is

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growing rapidly. Gowda (2011) points out that the hair and beauty industry, which was worth Rs

6,900 crores in 2008 (approx $ 1.4 billion), is estimated to attract Rs 98,500 crores in 2020 (or

approx $20.5 bn). This expansion has opened up opportunities for young men and women but, as

Gowda notes, the new hair care industry ‘does not want to take chances with the past stigma of hair

work’ as traditionally being a barber also meant belonging to a particular (‘low’) caste. Their lack

of economic capital, combined with lack of the language and demeanour associated with new, air-

conditioned, state-of-the-art hair salons and spas, prevents traditional barbers from deriving a

benefit from the growth of an industry and occupation which had been theirs for centuries.

There are tensions between capacity building of the less skilled vs working with the most skilled in

a profit -motivated context. Kala is a craft marketing Fair-trade organization based in Kolkata. It

exports handcrafted goods through Fair-trade channels to high-income countries and also caters to

the domestic market. Kala works with a number of producer groups, of which 13 per cent were

worker co-operatives in 2008, others being NGOs and trade license holders. With growth in its

trade, the partnership pattern has changed, and Kala is increasingly going for partnerships with

profit-making enterprises ‘that can assure efficient and quality production’, because they employ

only skilled labour and believe in time-bound production. Fair-trade principles envisage capacity

building and security of producers, but there is little incentive to include those who are seen as

being risky investments for skill training and this includes women – ‘Kala along with their

producers discourage women’s participation in certain production nodes because they believe

training men brings greater returns than training women’ (Das 2011:121).

Gender norms and biases against women can limit sectoral mobility. For example, a large share of

construction workers consists of informal workers and over half are women. This sector has seen

dramatic changes in technology and most casual informal workers lack corresponding skills

required to use new technology. SEWA in Ahmedabad has promoted a co-operative of trained and

organized women construction workers which develops workers’ skills through technical training

and facilitates linkages with the market.ix SEWA’s earlier experience had shown that providing

training alone did not enable women to access different work opportunities, and an important reason

behind this is negative perceptions regarding skills and capabilities of women construction workers

among male builders, engineers, supervisors and clients. In general, organizing and employment

generation going hand-in-hand with skill training would improve expected outcomes for informal

workers.

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III. Recent policy initiatives towards the informal sector, including the NCEUS and

legal changes on street vending

‘It is only in the world of Census statistics, and not in terms of direct assessment, that an

assembly line worker is presumed to have greater skill than a fisherman or oysterman,

the forklift operator greater skill than the gardener or groundskeeper, the machine

feeder greater skill than the longshoreman, the parking lot attendant greater skill than

the lumberman or raftsman.’ (Braverman 1974: 430)

The Second National Labour Commission had suggested a modular approach to vocational training

as early as 2001 (GOI 2001: 1095). The National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganised

Sector (NCEUS), set up in September 2004, developed a skill profile of workers in India to better

understand the scale of the problem. Using National Sample Survey data, the Commission included

different methods of skill acquisition: education, pre-employment training, on-the-job training,

continuous learning and re-training. x Having developed the concept of 'predominantly informal'xi

and 'predominantly formal'xii skills, it showed that in 1993-94, approximately 2 per cent of the

population had predominantly formal skills and 8.2 had predominantly informal skills.

This data cannot be directly compared to that for 2004-5 due to changes in definitions. In 2004-5,

the following profile was obtained:

Skills available in population 15-29 years 2004-5 (percentage of total)

Rural Males Rural Females Urban Males Urban Females Receiving or received formal training

3 2 9 6

Receiving or received hereditary or other informal training

9 6 9 5

No training 87 91 82 88 Source: computed from Table 3.3, page 16, NCEUS 2009. See also Annex 4.

For all persons in the age group 15- 29 years, in 2004-05 around 7.6 per cent had attended a

structured training programme leading to a certification by an accredited agency, and 7.3 per cent had

informally acquired skills. The table above shows a gender difference (higher percentage of men

than women have both formal and informal skills); and a location difference (more formal skills in

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urban than rural areas). There are also state-wide differences, with six southern and western states

accounting for 63 per cent of formally trained people. Importantly, having formal certification did

not guarantee a formal sector job and neither is a formal job ruled out by lack of formal

certification. Thus in the organised sector 11 per cent workers had formal training and another 10.4

per cent had informal training. Overall, 'the likelihood of being formally trained is higher for those

with high levels of education, the economically better-off, males, those living in urban areas, and

those belonging to upper castes' (NCEUS 2009:23). Private and non-government training were

seen to largely follow the same patterns as government training (ibid., 27).

After examining the conditions of work of the unorganized sector, the Commission presented a 13-

point ‘Action Programme for the Unorganized Sector’ (NCEUS 2007: 215). It recommended a

doubling of the target set by the government in its Skill Development Initiative (of one million

persons to be trained and certified over 5 years). Several initiatives have since then been taken both

in regard to social security and skill that address the informal sector, however, the specific

recommendations and draft laws prepared by the Commission have not been fully accepted. The

final shape of the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act (2008) for example focuses on welfare

programmes, while the NCEUS had recommended a more comprehensive coverage. xiii The Act

recommends that state level schemes for skill upgradation may be formulated.

Street vendors are among the most vulnerable groups of informal workers. Street vending is a part

of most cities and is usually understood as being an outcome of migration, urbanization, and

development: many people who are attracted into cities in search of work are unable to find regular

jobs, but are able to survive through street vending. This is a category of informal workers that is

difficult to enumerate given the extensive mobility of the group. According to the NCEUS, ‘the

number of street vendors varies from one city to another ranging from 1.5 to 2 lakhs in metropolis

like Mumbai and Kolkata to 30,000 in small cities like Bhubaneshwar’ (NCEUS 2008: 65).

Vendors who are able to obtain a license from the municipality are ‘legal’, and one finds many

more vendors on the street than those that are licensed. For the urban poor, vending is a way of

earning a livelihood that requires ‘minor financial input and the skills involved are low’ (Bhowmik

n.d. )xiv.

India is one of the few countries with a National Policy for street vendors. Responding to advocacy

by the National Association of Street Vendors in India (NASVI), a National Policy on Street

Vendors was formulated in 2004, and revised in 2009. The next step is for State governments and

local bodies to carry forward the spirit of the National Policy (see Sinha and Roever 2011).

Although the National Policy aims at creating an enabling environment for street vendors, this is an

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issue concerning urban local bodies and the rules governing their functioning are determined by the

state governments. Sustained advocacy at state level is needed to persuade state governments to

pass or modify laws with an accommodative view of street vending. States that have shown some

responsiveness include Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,

West Bengal and Kerala.xv

The National Policy for Street Vendors states that ‘Street vendors being micro enterprises should be

provided with training to upgrade their technical and business skills so as to increase their income

as well as to look for alternatives’. The Constitution of National Association of Street Vendors of

India (NASVI) places as an objective ‘To improve skill of vendors by imparting skill development

training in alternative employment’.

After getting a license, the most pressing need of licensed street vendors is to be given a secure

space from which to vend; and then to earn a living wage. While the National Policy proposes

measures to ‘manage’ street vendors, it needs to be clearly linked to larger employment generation

measures if vendors that are declared as being ‘surplus’ are not to be simply displaced from this

work (Bandyopadhyay 2011). For licensed street vendors, the provision of Business Development

Skills (BDS) to enable them to become more successful as street entrepreneurs is needed; for those

who are unable to get a license, skill training, linked to a programme of employment generation, is

needed to enable them to find a foothold in some other work.

The challenges faced by street vendors in relation to skill acquisition are therefore of three kinds.

First, for the most insecure, skill training linked to alternative employment is needed; second, for

the most secure, technical and business skills to support their entrepreneurship may be viable, in

that they meet the policy objective of imparting ‘bankable skills’ suggesting that resources invested

in skill training could yield adequate returns to make the initial investment viable; third, there is an

in-between group for whom actual market opportunities are limited so that the motivation to invest

in training is low, as it is not seen to lead to significant increase in income.

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IV. Training for home-based workers

Home-based work in India has a long history. Skilled craftsmen receiving royal patronage, the

tradition of home-based work for own use or gifting, agriculture and animal husbandry for self-

consumption, are some of the pathways through which work at home has developed into production

for sale. The disintegration of consolidated enterprises into smaller units, as for example in the

textile industry, and the increase in outsourcing, has encouraged home based work even in new and

modern industry. According to official data for 2004-05, over 50 per cent of women workers and

around 12 per cent of men, work from home (Jhabvala, Unni and Sinha 2007:9).

Trade unions such as SEWA have been in the forefront arguing for a national policy recognising the

rights of home-based workers to a minimum wage and other legal protection. These groups argue

that the recognition and protection of home-based workers is needed, and the implicit expectation is

that such work is not likely to go away with economic growth and development. Other groups argue

that ‘decent work’ requires compliance with standards that can rarely if ever be met in home-based

work, and that therefore the goals of labour policy should be to enable and encourage all workers to

be able to access regular work. Similarly some feminists argue that if women continue to work

from home, this allows a veil to be drawn over gender discriminatory norms and practices within

households. It has also been noted that the younger generation is reluctant to follow their mothers

into such work. Whatever the theoretical arguments in favour of, or against, home-based work

might be, developing a policy is strongly needed given the size of the group.

The Kathmandu Declaration, which was adopted by representatives of all South Asian governments

in 2000 encouraged the ‘formulation of a National Policy and a Plan of Action on Home-based

Workers by the Governments of the South Asian Region in consultation with the stakeholders’.xvi

However, little progress has been made since then to develop a national policy. The Kathmandu

Declaration. One of the suggested components of the policy was ‘Minimum protection, which

would include right to organize, minimum remuneration, occupational health and safety, statutory

social protection, maternity, child-care, skill development and literacy programme’.

In a study of South Asian home-based workers conducted in 2004-5, actual peak season earnings of

home based workers sampled, ranged from a low of 4 per cent of the national per capita income to a

“high” of 40 per cent for this group. The groups that listed ‘skill training’ among their top three

priorities tended to be those which were relatively more secure in economic terms. Thus, garment

workers in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan all mentioned skill training as a priority concern, but

not in India, which can be explained by the fact that the group of home-based garment workers

sampled in India was relatively poorer (Sudarshan 2010: 177; see also Annex 5).

13

Weavers are among the most highly skilled home based workers and yet many live in poverty. In

2002, UNIDO extended its cluster development initiative to the handloom weavers cluster of

Chanderi, in Madhya Pradesh, which is famous for its sarees (Green 2005). Official data estimates

that about 35 per cent of the population of the town is involved in the making of Chanderi; virtually

every house has one or two looms. The main strategies introduced include new designs, and

Business Development Services to encourage competitiveness. These efforts have converged into

the setting up of the ‘Chanderi weavers ICT Resource Centre’.xvii However, earning a livelihood

while also acquiring new skills and learning to work with new technology and new designs, remains

a challenge for weavers.

The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is a global Decent Work initiative that recognizes the realities

of home based work and the need not to drive work away from home workers, which can be an

unfortunate by-product of higher wages.xviii ETI conducts regular trainings for its partners, and its

guidelines encourage development of leadership and language skills apart from the narrowly work-

related skills.

The time-bound partnership between SEWA and ITC, for the manufacture and sale of agarbathi

(perfumed incense sticks) in Bihar, is an unusual Trade Union-Private sector partnership. A

corporate social responsibility initiative in 2003, ITC wanted to source agarbathi for its new plant

which would then perfume and package it for sale. To meet the industrial requirements of high and

sustained output, women found that they had to work through the day even at festival time;

although SEWA set up production centres, women preferred to work from home. Many women

who took the training opted out of production citing reasons such as health, lack of time, rates

offered etc. Selecting women posed a conflict between ‘development’ and ‘business’- should

women be left to work at their own pace, or should the work be given to those who worked harder.

At the end of the period, SEWA felt that much had been learnt and many women had benefited

from additional income; however regular production at levels required had not been achieved

(Thakur n.d.).

Udyogini, an organization started in the early 1990s to provide microenterprise management

training to poor rural women, has (with other institutions in Africa, supported through a World

Bank initiative), developed the concept of and manual for Grassroots Management Training

(GMT). xix Their experience shows that women very often seek livelihood security rather than

enterprise growth; they continue to combine paid work with household work and are reluctant to

convert to ‘full time’ workers. The tailored approach that is used requires substantial hand holding

and modification of the design to different contexts.

14

As with street vendors, the desirable content of any training depends considerably on the anticipated

growth trajectory of the sector. In sectors facing decline or very slow growth, skills acquisition

needs to be linked to finding new work.

15

V. Conclusion

The skill development policy has a focus on the expected requirements of high growth sectors. To

a limited extent, opportunities for youth from informal worker families to enter these sectors have

expanded. The formal institutions that impart skill training stand apart from the workplace, hence

their role has been mainly in entry-level certification. Modular employable skills can enable

workers to acquire certification later on, and other innovative approaches are being started for

certification of skills learnt on the job.

Key challenges in the context of dominant informality include the fact that many workers start with

low literacy skills and a weak educational base; given the need to earn a living and survive, most

workers cannot take time off for training, even if it is free; while training on the job is more of a

practical possibility in regular work, it is needed even more by those who are in informal work!

The link between additional training and better-paid work remains weak, whether through self-

employment or regular work; caste, gender and other stratifications can prevent mobility within a

sector or into a new occupation.

Reaching out to more informal workers, specially women, would be helped by a wider definition of

‘skill’; by teaching methods that do not assume literacy; and by building up many more

opportunities for re-skilling in sectors where new technology has displaced workers.

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Documents Consulted

CII. Catalysing Growth: Education sector in the Northern Region, Confederation of Indian Industry.

Ethical Trading Initiative. ETI homeworker guidelines: recommendations for working with homeworkers.

Fifty Eighth Meeting of the Central Advisory Board Of Education June 2011at http://www.education.nic.in/CABE/58TH-CABE-Agenda-Background-Rev.pdf

Goel, Vijay P. Technical And Vocational Education And Training (TVET) System In India For Sustainable Development Http://Www.Unevoc.Unesco.Org/Up/India_Country_Paper.Pdf 12.9.2011

Government of India, National Skill Development Policy

Government of India. 2011. Approach to the Twelfth Plan (draft). Planning Commission, Government of India, available at http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/12appdrft/appraoch_12plan.pdf

Govt of India. 2002. Report of the National Commission on Labour. Vol I, Part II, pp 1073-1150 (Chapter 10, Skill Development)

Govt of India. 2007. Report on conditions of work and promotion of livelihoods in the unorganized sector. New Delhi: National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector.

Govt of India. 2009. Skill Formation and Employment Assurance in the Unorganized Sector. New Delhi: National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector

Planning Commission, Govt of India. Five Year Plans; Approach to the Twelfth Plan.

Planning Commission, Mid Term Appraisal of the Eleventh Plan, Chapter 9 on ‘Employment and Skill Development’.

Report of the Group on Women Workers and Child Labour, National Commission on Labour (2001)

World Bank. 2006. Skill Development In India: The Vocational Education And Training System

World Bank. 2007. Project Appraisal Document On Vocational Training Improvement Project, May 9 2007.

World Bank. 2008. Skill Development in India. The Vocational Education and Training System, Human Development Unit, South Asia Region, January

17

Other references

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C. P. Chandrasekhar/Jayati Ghosh, 2011, ‘Women's Work: Has Anything Changed?’, The Hindu Business Line, 9 August 2011 at http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/c-p-chandrasekhar/article2337066.ece accessed November 14.rowth

Das, Ranjana. 2011. Gender in practices of fair trade and decent work. Gender, technology and development, 15,1 (2011): 101-125.

Gowda, Chandan. 'Barbers and hairstylists', Hindu magazine, August 21, 2011.

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18

ENDNOTES

i This target is further discussed in the National Policy on Skill Development available at http://labour.nic.in/policy/NationalSkillDevelopmentPolicyMar09.pdf accessed Sept 28 2011. See also Annex 1. ii Based on population projections of the National Commission on Population, May 2006, at http://nrhm-mis.nic.in/UI/Public%20Periodic/Population_Projection_Report_2006.pdf accessed November 1, 2011 iii See ISST 2007; also the NDDB website at http://www.nddb.org/aboutnddb/operationflood.html accessed November 1, 2011 iv The sectors are Automobile/autocomponents; Electronics hardware; Textiles and garments; Leather and leather goods; Chemicals and pharmaceuticals; Gems and jewellery; Building and construction; Food processing; Handlooms and handicrafts; Building hardware and home furnishings; IT or software; ITES-BPO; Tourism, hospitality and travel; Transportation/ logistics/ warehousing and packaging; Organised retail; Real estate; Media, entertainment, broadcasting, content creation, animation; Healthcare; Banking/ insurance and finance; Education/ skill development and the Unorganised sector. v The increase in this category of women’s regular work in urban India – ie domestic work (between 1999-2000 and 2004-05) was 3 million, far exceeding the increase in “export oriented” sectors like garments, leather and ITES. (Chandrasekhar and Ghosh 2011) vi At http://www.education.nic.in/CABE/58TH-CABE-Agenda-Background-Rev.pdf sept 29, 2011. vii At http://ieg.ignou.ac.in/wiki/index.php/IGNOU_WIKI/Community_Colleges accessed Sept 29 2011 viii GOI, eleventh five year plan, p 91, chap 5 ix Brochure on ‘Rachaita – synergizing the strength of women construction workers’ and see also www.sewarachaita.org x The National Sample Survey contains a question on ‘skill’ in its employment and unemployment schedule. This is a separate question from education. The questions on education capture the ‘higher’ skills – engineering, medicine, crafts or any other formal course of training. Skills have a wide range: typist, stenographer, fisherman, miner, quarryman, spinner including charkha operator, weaver, tailor, cutter, shoe maker, cobbler, carpenter, mason, bricklayer, moulder, machineman, fitter, diecutter, welder, blacksmith, goldsmith, silversmith, electrician, repairer of electronic goods, motor vehicle driver, tractor driver, boatman, potter, nurse, midwife, basket maker, wicker product maker, toy maker, brick maker, tile maker, bidi maker, bookbinder, barber, mud house builder and thatcher, others, no skill. Source: NSS Household Schedule 10. Employment and Unemployment. xi 'skills wherein majority of population were illiterate and below primary educated and primary and middle educated, while low share of population were educated at secondary and above'; nurses and midwives in rural areas were clasified as predominantly informal xii 'skills wherein a substantial proportion of popultion had secondary and higher education'; nurses and midwives in urban areas were classified as predominantly formal.

xiii As one analyst put it, ‘It is strange that the recommendations of the Second National Labour Commission, the Report of the Petitions Committee of Lok Sabha, the Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Labour and the Report along with draft laws prepared by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector have all been ignored’. The demand had been for a comprehensive act covering conditions of work and employment, whereas the act as passed looks only at welfare schemes. See ‘A Critique of India’s Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008’ by T S Sankaran, Monday 16 February 2009, at http://www.sacw.net/article658.html accessed Nov 8 2011 xiv Sharit Bhowmik, at http://www.inclusivecities.org/pdfs/bhowmik.pdf

19

xv Sinha and Roever 2011, page 8; see also NASVI website at http://www.nasvinet.org/nasvi.php?page_code_no=3, accessed Sept 27, 2011 xvi See discussion on the Declaration at http://www.homenetsouthasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72&Itemid=75 Accessed November 1, 2011 xvii http://chanderiyaan.chanderi.org/ accessed Nov 2, 2011 xviii http://www.ethicaltrade.org/sites/default/files/resources/ETI%20Homeworker%20guidelines,%20ENG.pdf xix http://karmayog.org/nonprofits/profiles/profiledis.asp?r=240&id=20667

- -.1 •• -----

SllNo Ministry / Department/ Present number of Present training Projected number ofOrganisation institutions capacity per annum trained persons by 2022

( IN LAKH) (IN LAKH)] Nationa] Skill Development -- -- 1500

Corporation .

2 Labonr & Emp]oyment 33,000 ]2 .00 10003 Tourism 38 0.]7 504 Textiles 277 0.]5 1005 TransPOlt I 0.02 3006 Tribal Affairs 63 0.067 Rural Development ]56 5.48 200

(RUDSETI) and IL & FS8 Women & Child Welfare 68 17.50 ]009 Agriculture 72 19.8] 200]0 HRD Higher Education 1O,000(Voc. sch]s) 19.60 500

HRD Vocational Education (Engg. Coil. 2297 ]4.00Polytechnics ]675)

] ] Dept of Heavy Industry * * 100]2 Urban Development 34 0.013 ]50]3 Depmtment of Information 1000 (Affiliated 1.37 100

Technology centres) + 7 CDAC

]4 Food Processing Indush'ies 34 0.10 50]5 Construction Iudustry 147 4.64 200

Development Council (underPlanning COl1lll1ission )

16 Health & Family Welfare 3802 1.35 ]00]7 Micro Small Medium 356 2.92 150

Enterprise]8 Social Justice & Empowerment Through NGOs & 50

others]9 Overseas Indian Affairs tn partnership with 0.]3 50

MS?vfE!stateGovemmentlCIUNGOete.

20 Finance-Insurance/Banking • 10022 Consumer Affairs * 10023 Chemicals & Fertilizers 6 0.]9 5024 Olhers (Power, Petroleum etc.) NA 150

Total 99.46 5300

i.e. 53 cl'ore

*At present these li£inistries are not direclly involved in pre-e1l1ploY1l1ent training activities.

tAlPage 44

CareE}r F'aths within domestic work

Hospitality

I\/Iain features of th(3 programmeo Part of the broader MoLE's SDI/MES programme

() Implemented in Delhi/NCR

o Training leads to a NCVT certificate -first officialtraining programme on Domestic Work

o Training is provided by approved vocational trainingproviders (VTPs)

o Assessment and certification done by officiallyselected 'Assessing Bodies'

14/10/2011

S"VY<"-: 11-0 ?Yese..-t",,-hoC) Oh Sf-..; 1/ :tevehphr,~-I I"",L,'",C

<f.y JJ 0 oN1 <-~ c: c-. Iv G'fkey.5 "'-r /.J ay le: s t.. ,P 0 Y:)C''- ",,'.<ed J.,J

f!;,ST Oe-t;;bev (If 1"-01/,J

2

Fig. 1: Qualifications by levels across the NVEQF

ll,/

General EducationQualifications

RegisteredNationalVocationalEducationQualifications

Proposed CertificateAwarding Bodies

byand

Jointly byPolytechnics/CollegeslUniversities and NSDC

JointlySchool/lTINTPsNSDC

Jointly byCBSE/CISCE/State Boardsand NSDC

Colleges and Universities

Jointly by CollegeslUniversities and NSDC

NationalCompetenceCertificate 7

NationalCompetenceCertificate I

NationalCompetenceCertificate 3

NationalCompetenceCer1ificate 5

National CCI1ificatefor Work PreparationI (NCWP-I)

Bachelor Degrees andGraduate Diplomas

Class XI(Vocational)

Class IX(Pre-vocational)

/

fh~~ '1- T~ C-~C;f--I

A. (1::-, S ez,,,dr cl"-' [;LN~

:f '" 1'~e 2011 I

'F;fty eA0ht~

E~C-,do'~

01cJ&.I '1~ <; cl. C'- 'j

fZe -.{ 0 CA-" C~ {, -e- ~~ pY"v' CAA+-)

tj IJ N bx 4

Table 3.3: Skill Levels of Population in the Age Group 15 -29 in 2004-05 (in millions)

Rural Urban Rural +Urban

Skill

Rccei \ling formal

training 1.1 0.5 1.5 1.7 0.8 2.4 2.7 1.2 3.9

Recei ved formal

training 1.5 1.2 2.7 2.6 1.8 4.4 4.1 3.1 7.1

Formal 2.6 1.7 4.3 4.2 2.6 6.8 6.8 4.3 11.1

Hereditary 5.9 3.1 9.0 1.5 0.7 2.2 7,4 3.8 11.2

Others 3.8 2.9 6.7 3.0 1.3 4.3 6.8 4.3 11.0

Informal 9.6 6.1 15.7 4.6 2.0 6.6 14.2 8.1 22.3

No tr£linlng 88.3 88.9 177.3 40,4 36.1 76.5 128.7 125.0 253.7

Total 101.4 97.7 199.1 49,4 41.0 90,4 150.8 138.7 289.5

Source: Computed from unit leve[ ([Ma of NSS G1st Round 2004 - 2005, Emp!oynwnl - Unemployment Survey.

DVi\tG?DO C

(

1(,

Table 7.5Needs and Priorities of Home-based "'orkers

Country

Bangladesh

India

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Sectors Earnings 8 Needs

\Veaving 5 Timely payment Minimum wage. ShelUPearl 5 Housing Maternity benefitsGarments 15 Skill training CreditPottery 21 Credit Housing

agarbathi 4 Credit HousingGarments 10 More work HousingWeaving 11 More work Credit

Handmade paper 30 More work Market information\Veaving 30 Market information More workGarments 40 Skill training More work

Weaving 16 Credit Timely paymentGarments 22 Timely payment More workPottery 31 Timely payment Credit

Coir yarn 6 Credit HousingReed 7 Minimum wage CreditMat making 7 Credit HousingJewellery NA Skill training More workBatik 16 Skill training Credit

(8) ('Iv "+ (\ c"- +; ,)vI t'_1 P'PV .::: C-'~Pi I;' I hCc n.---. Co LV~

More workCreditSHousingSkill training

Health insuranceCreditHousing

Health care centreHealth care centreTimely payment

Market informationSkill trainingMore work

Skill trainingHousingSkill trainingCreditMore work

EH; (0