School of Education

TVET policies for ensuring effective skills development of marginalised youths in India

Testimonials

Testimonial note from Ms. Soma Mitra Mukherjee (Deputy Director, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industries, India) on the current collaboration around developing innovative vocational training modules. The modules will be shared by BCC&I with the state government for further implementation in vocational institutions in West Bengal.  

“The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry is constantly working in the skill development sector. Since 2017-18, The BCC&I research division has been closely associated with Dr Srabani Maitra (University of Glasgow) and Dr Saikat Maitra (Indian Institute of Management Calcutta) to work on collaborative research projects on skill and training in India. IIM Calcutta and the BCC&I have jointly conducted extensive surveys with students in selected ITIs in West Bengal, India. The primary objective of the survey was to understand the impact of training on the employability of trainees who are studying in ITIs. Based on the surveys and the interviews conducted with trainers, students and government officials, The BCC&I is presently conceptualizing industry driven, sustainable training modules and working very closely with the State Government. An Industry Resource Cell will be formulated jointly with the State Government to promote and conduct placement linked training programmes. Srabani Maitra’s research expertise and methodology have been very relevant in this context. University of Glasgow and IIMC research team have been invited to conduct seminars in BCC&I in order to disseminate our findings with employers and state level policy makers.  The Chamber also organized Chief Executive Connecting meet. In this meet, several Chief Executive Officers from different industries, Government Policy Makers interacted and participated and in this conference, Maitra’s research team presented on the current skill training ecosystem in India. Building on our joint research with Maitra, the Chamber is also working with the National Government to encourage apprenticeship training programme and create awareness of apprenticeship model amongst MSMEs to encourage convergence between Skill and MSME sectors”.  

 

Quotes from Ms. Tanvi Gadoya (Vocational Education and Corporate trainer) on how the project related seminars are changing the practices of skill trainers and raising their awareness about socio-economic inequalities impacting skill training. 

“I am extremely grateful to Srabani for the guidance, support, trust and opportunity on research and interviews… After interacting with students, I could realise the potential of the project… most of the students are struggling because of lack of proper ecosystem, slow funding, slow/misguided mentorship to take their innovation to the next level. So they settle for jobs despite having higher dreams! However, some have come far despite all odds. It was an absolute pleasure to hear out those inquisitive brains!” 

“The project made me more sensitive as a trainer and now I will make sure to stay in loop with activities of the government and even make them aware about what work young Indians are doing and what resources they lack. There is a serious gap of communication between academia and concerned governmental departments. Also I have become more aware of issues like gender, caste and class. I talk about these issues with students teachers and other trainers. I shall make trainees aware about their basic rights and make sure their strengths, talents and ideas reach the right platform!” 

 

Quote from Advisory to Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Government of Gujarat 

“Maitra’s research can change the course of young lives as it will give clarity to them about what is happening at ground level. Nobody has done such a research project to find out about the influence of the young and underprivileged”.  

 

Testimonies from three students who attended the Indian workshops and were mentored by the research team for building awareness around issues of gender, class and caste within vocational institutes.  

• “As a student then the seminar workshops were very helpful to me to choose a better path. It helped me in many ways. It made me realize how to make my ITI training useful. Specially Saikat sir and Srabani maam were very helpful in mentoring me and helped me to be more confident and understand the Electrician course. I have now found a good job in Lighting Department (KMC)”—Rahul Sarkar 

• “The workshop and the mentoring were very helpful in helping me to understand how to make my ITI training useful. As a woman it was very helpful to learn about gender and how to address those during training. Since the workshop I have been asking questions to my instructors about gender barriers in jobs and also how training can be helpful in challenging the gender barriers. Srabani Maitra and Saikat Maitra were very helpful in mentoring me and the conversations we had over the years have helped me to be more confident and understand the employment scenario. I have now found a good job in the Department of Health. I am in contact with Srabani Maitra and Saikat Maitra to organize more workshops to create awareness among other vocational education students about gender”—Soma Shaw 

• “For the first time I share my difficulties about the courses with my teachers and trainers Thank you Srabani maam for giving me the opportunity in the workshop. I am shy and did not know about gender. Now I know. I tell my friends and family about gender. Many things should change and we need to say about that”—Debjani Basu 

 

Quote from participant who attended the workshop at University of Glasgow titled, Equality as an Endpoint: Learning, Training and the Global Pathways to Inclusive Development”. The workshop with more than 60 participants brought together views, perspectives, and insights from international policy makers and academics on effective learning and training for inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development of marginalised populations globally. 

“As a student participating in the workshop, it provided me with an opportunity to learn, interact and exchange ideas with the professionals and policymakers on an international level. It has deepened my understanding and broadened my horizon regarding globalisation, migration and educational challenges in the twenty-first-century and how skills training and lifelong learning programmes can help in tackling these challenges, especially for the marginalised population”. – Preeti Dagar, PhD student, University of Glasgow