Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142) - India (Ratification: 2009)

Other comments on C142

Direct Request

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Article 1 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of education and training policies. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to provide information on the activities and policies adopted by the National Skill Development Agency and to provide statistics, disaggregated by sex and age, on the impact of the measures implemented in relation to skills development. The Government indicates in its report that the skills development system in India was until recently highly fragmented, which limited the effectiveness of the skills training programmes implemented by central ministries and departments. Accordingly, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) was created as the new Ministry for coordinating and steering skills development efforts and ensuring coherence in this area across the country. The Committee notes in this regard that the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the National Skill Development Fund, the Directorate General of Training and the National Institute of Entrepreneurship were all brought under the MSDE for improved coordination and convergence of skills development initiatives. The Government further indicates that policies, such as common norms for skills development schemes and the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF), are being implemented in all the skills development initiatives, including training programmes, and being carried out by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and others. In this context, the Committee notes the Government’s report on the application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), indicating that the country is facing a significant challenge ahead in terms of skills development, as it is estimated that only 4.69 per cent of the total workforce in India has undergone formal skills training. On the demand side, a skills gap study conducted by the NSDC over the 2010–14 period indicates that there is an additional net incremental requirement of 109.73 million skilled workers by 2022 in 24 key sectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, including statistics, disaggregated by age, sex and disadvantaged group, such as scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, on the impact of the vocational guidance and vocational training policies and programmes which have been adopted. It also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship ensures effective coordination between these policies and programmes on the one hand, and employment and the public employment services on the other.

Article 1(5). Equal opportunities. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the various vocational guidance and vocational training measures being implemented targeting disadvantaged groups, including women, persons belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, minorities and persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that 24 Coaching and Guidance Centres have been set up in different cities across the country to provide vocational guidance and career counselling services to jobseekers from the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes to enhance their employability. In addition, the Ministry of Labour and Employment is implementing a scheme providing vocational support to persons with disabilities through 21 Vocational Rehabilitation Centres which evaluate residual capacities, provide training and self-employment assistance. The Government adds that 20 per cent of targeted Entrepreneurship Development Programmes and the Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programmes are conducted exclusively for persons belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and persons with disabilities. A placement-linked programme, Seekho aur Kamao (Learn & Earn), aims to provide minority youth with upgraded modern and traditional skills, and ensures placement of at least 75 per cent of trainees. The Committee notes that 123,330 persons were trained in 2015–16, a significant increase compared to 20,686 persons trained in 2014–15. The Government also indicates that a new integrated education and livelihood initiative targeting minority youth (17–35 years) provides them with formal education, skill training and certification to enable them to seek better employment opportunities. The Nai Roshni programme, a leadership development programme for women from minority groups, provides participants with knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with government institutions and banks, through various training courses, including training in educational empowerment, health, legal rights and digital literacy. In 2015–16, the Ministry of Minority Affairs launched a scheme on “Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts and Crafts for Development”, which seeks to preserve the rich cultural heritage of minorities in traditional arts and crafts. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide up-to-date information on the results of the measures implemented to assist women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, minorities and persons with disabilities to develop and use their technical and vocational skills (see also Paragraph 5(h) of the Human Resources Development Recommendation, 2004 (No. 195)), including statistics on the number of persons benefitting from such measures. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of various skills development training and self-employment schemes that have been established including, for example, for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers.

Article 2. Education, training and lifelong learning. The Government indicates that, during the reporting period, the MSDE carried out four policy interventions focused on articulating an overarching vision for skills development in India, to educate youth and promote lifelong learning. These include: (i) India’s second National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, launched in 2015; (ii) the first National Skill Development Mission, also launched in 2015, to coordinate, implement and monitor skilling efforts under a three-tier structure, consisting of a Governing Council, a Steering Committee and Mission Directorate; (iii) notification across India of common norms for skill development schemes to ensure standardisation; and (iv) operationalization of the National Skill Qualification Framework, to ensure consistency in measuring the outcomes of skills training. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which these measures, taken under the national policy of vocational guidance and vocational training, have contributed to the development of open, flexible and complementary systems of general, technical and vocational education, educational and vocational guidance and vocational training.

Article 3. Vocational guidance information. The Government indicates that vocational guidance services are provided to youth through 409 Employment Exchanges that provide vocational guidance to youth through specialized vocational guidance units, as well as through 75 universities where employment information and guidance facilities are made available to students and alumni. The Committee further notes that the National Career Service (NCS) Portal launched in July 2015 provides a range of employment-related services, including job matching, career counselling, information on skills development courses, apprenticeships and internships. Moreover, the National Labour Market Information System (LMIS), launched in July 2016, makes available skills-related data and vocational guidance information to different government stakeholders and to the public. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the scope and impact of the measures adopted to provide comprehensive information and the broadest possible vocational guidance to children, young persons and adults, including vocational guidance for persons with disabilities. The Committee also once again requests the Government to supply copies of the information made publicly available in the context of vocational guidance and counselling and to provide information on vocational guidance measures taken or envisaged by central ministries and agencies as part of the national strategy.

Article 4. Vocational training and lifelong learning. The Government indicates that the number of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) has increased, reaching 13,105 during the reporting period. The Committee notes with interest that the capacity of ITIs increased by over 18 per cent, from 1,523,000 seats in 2014 to 1,865,000 seats in 2016. The annual increase in capacity was 170,000 seats per year during the 2014–16 period, as compared to 55,000 seats in 2013–14. The Government adds that apprenticeship training has also increased since the modification of the Apprenticeship Act in December 2014. The Committee notes in this regard that employers can now engage up to four times more apprentices since the adoption of the Act, and the number of apprentices in the country increased from 270,000 to 310,000 from 2014 to 2015. A National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) has also been launched, through which up to 25 per cent of the stipend paid to participants is covered by Government funds. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information, disaggregated by age, sex and disadvantaged group, such as scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, on the impact of the measures adopted by the Industrial Training Institutes. It also requests the Government to provide additional detailed information on the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure that vocational training programmes cover different fields of the economy and are adapted to the changing requirements of individuals throughout their lives and to changing needs in the labour market.

Article 5. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no information concerning the application of Article 5. The Committee therefore requests the Government to communicate information regarding the manner in which it is ensured that the formulation and implementation of vocational guidance and vocational training policies and programmes is carried out in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations and other interested bodies, as required under the Convention.