NEED FOR CERTIFICATION OF NON FORMALLY TRAINED TECHNICAL AND SKILLED PERSONS IN INDIA

There is a large segment of un-employed/underemployed persons who are skilled but don’t have a formal certificate to prove their skills and experience. As a result of this they are unable to gain proper employment in the field of their competency.Because of not having any certification which gives out their skills and experience they are denied a chance to gain at useful employment in the Government, semi Government, Non Government agencies and also miss out on foreign placements. On the contrary whenever they are employed, they are exploited due to this lack of certification and are given much below par salaries.. On the contrary whenever they are employed they are exploited due to this lack of certification of their skills and experience. They are denied promotions, increments and are given much below par salaries. In short they are exploited despite their having skills and experience. More over they are always denied a chance to upgrade their skill set and do continuous training and education because they do not fulfill the certification criteria which is required by institutes or in house training capsules of Govt and private bodies.I am sure when you had a two wheeler as young man you would have always gone to a particular scooter/motor cycle mechanic whose ITI certificate you never bothered to see but who knew our scooter/bikes auto problems backwards and set them right in a jiffy that too at half the authorised garage costs. Here I am highlighting the plight of this kind of self taught or non formally trained technicians. I have tried to suggest a method which is very much followed in most advanced countries but has not been encouraged in INDIA. In short they are exploited despite their having skills and experience.
Reasons for not attaining Formal Technical Certification. These persons are not able to pursue their formal skills training and studies and get employment due to the following reasons:-
Due to ancestral profession being followed by the family
· Due to family reasons – as all poor parents send the first born to work so that he/she supports the other or younger siblings to be educated and trained/married off if they happen to be females.
· Due to ignorance about future job scenario.
· Due to lack of proper mentoring.
· Due to economic backwardness and lack of opportunities.
· Scoring low marks in the matriculation or plus 2/Higher Secondary examinations thus not getting admission in the ITI’s.
Common Skills in which non formally trained persons exist in large numbers.

These are – Welder, Furniture Carpenter, Lathe mechanic, Air Conditioner Mechanic, Plumber, Heavy Tractor/ Truck Mechanic, Scooter / Motorcycle mechanic, Car mechanic, Electricians of house /construction/ home appliances, Tool and Die maker, Mason, Painter, Denter/painter, Earth moving and heavy road construction machinery Mechanic, Auto Electrician, Computer Operator, Computer Hardware Mechanic, etc.
Factors which make this Certification of these Non Formal Skills and Experience Necessary
. The certification of these non formal skills and competency is required due to the following factors:-

REQUIREMENT TO HAVE MORE SKILLED PERSONS FOR FUTURE JOB MARKET When these tests are conducted for the total eligible persons of the state and certification is done for their competency and skills then these persons whose skills and experience is certified there will be a large pool of skilled manpower for all stake holders to choose from.

REQUIREMENT TO BENEFIT LARGE NUMBER WHO HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT OF FORMAL TECHNICAL AND EDUCATION TRAINING FOLD A large number will be benefited with this Certification as their skills and experience will be certified irrespective of their age . They can be tested and certificate of competency and experience will be awarded to bring then into the mainstream of employment. Thus a large population segment shall benefit from this effort of the government. This will encourage the idea of continuous education also to a large extent.

THIS WILL BE A CONTINUOUS EFFORT. It should not be one time measure alone but when this scheme is continued then many persons who are unable to get formal technical education in future because of the reasons cited above will keep getting opportunities to get certified for their non formal skills and experience.

THIS CERTIFICATION WILL DECREASE UNEMPLOYMENT With this the unemployed youth will get employment in their own profession and they will not vile away their time in aimless pursuits and this will decrease the problem of unemployment in turn actually as this will assist the youth in getting employment in large numbers.

IT IS DEMAND OF ALL SEGMENTS OF THE SOCIETY WHO WILL STAND TO BENEFIT AND THIS DEMAND CUTS ACROSS MOST SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY BE IT ON CASTE OR ECONOMIC BASIS This will lead to a satisfaction of a large number of persons who will stand to benefit and it is a win win situation for all the stake holders.
Procedure of this Certification of competency and experience
Methodology There can be many options of testing these candidates but three are mentioned here.A body of experts who are experts in various skills which are to be certified be will be formed to certify the skills, competency and experience of the applicants who need certification OR This can be a body approved internationally and approved by CII OR May be body of experts or a NGO which is abreast with the current and future skill sets requirement. This NGO or body of experts will be paid adequate honorarium for their time to keep the process of certification as transparent as possible.
Hence there are distinct options available to choose from and it is imperative to mention here that the process of certification is kept temper proof, free from all kinds of influence and corruption.

Steps of Certification
· The technical education department or the approved certifying body shall ask for applications every month from persons who like to be tested and certified.
· A basic registration cum examination fee as decided which will cater for all categories of persons i.e. for general/reserved categories/ economically weaker sections.
· After receipt of applications a short training program to get all candidates on the basic and same grid can be conducted.
· Skill testing including a verbal test will be conducted in which 80% marks will be allotted for skill test and 20% marks will be allotted for verbal examination and a gradation certificate will be issued based on their performance in the tests. Experts will test and grade keeping in view the range of basic to latest technology skills set in a particular profession . Two sample copies of certificates for the proposed certification of skills, competency and experience are enclosed at the end of these paper.
· Any person who is still found wanting in skills should be then sent to such institutes who run such capsules courses to learn/relearn/upgrade knowledge and skill set.

Benefits of this Certification
For Youth

· A large number of youth who are in search of employment without any guidance and direction will get assistance in getting employment in the profession in which they have certain skills

· Will assist in eradication of unemployment and frustration.

· Many persons in their advancing age who were not able to study but are competent in their profession will get assistance in employment even at the late age of 45.

For the Government
· Government will gain immediate trust of the very large number of persons from all segments of society.

· It will reduce the headache for the government by reducing the uneasiness/directionless among the youth as more persons will better employment opportunities due to this government approved certification.

· This will immediately increase trust of youth in the present Government.

· Will assist Government in fulfilling the promise of providing fruitful employment to a large number of unemployed persons.

· It will help the industry to recruit suitable persons hither to fore not available in such skills and in such numbers.

· The government will have ready database available for Strategic Technical Education Manpower Planning of the state.
Common Benefits for Government and Society
· Reduction in growing trend of drug abuse.

· Reduction in crime.

· Improvement in self Confidence of the youth of the state due to technological competency which is being conferred.

No Financial burden on Government Treasury due to this certification

· No additional burden will be put on the treasury if it decides to conduct the certification on its own as government already has instructors in Industrial Training Institutes to conduct these examinations. Industrial Training Institutes also have tools / Machinery to conduct such tests. The cost of conducting these tests will be compensated by the fee collected for such tests. If any machinery /equipment is required to conduct tests for any specialized profession then assistance from the Government/industry will be sought.
· On the other hand if it is decided to hand it over to an independent body then that body will make all the arrangement with the best testing equipment for a particular profession and charge a reasonable fee for short training capsule, for the testing and certification.

· Any reasonable amount of testing fee will be readily accepted by the youth as they will be getting the requisite certification after testing their claimed skills.
Basis of this Non formal Skill and Experience Certification

Almost all developed countries are adopting this system and is active in Canada and Australia. It is also called Challenge / Apprenticeship Examination and is conducted for the foreign / local Apprentices who seek certification of their non formal skills in many foreign countries.
Conclusion. If this system of certification of non formal skills and experience is adopted then a very large number of persons in the state will join the league of trained persons. After this system is adopted then more and more competent and experienced youth will get employment in their respective professions and will also get exposure, upgraded training and guidance to get jobs. The Government will have a ready Trained Manpower Reserve pool because this will lead to more number of technically qualified and certified youth in the total population. Due to this the new department of Employment Generation for providing employment to the youth will have a ready reserve pool of skilled manpower and statistics. With the implementation of this scheme, there will be increase in the self confidence of the youth and they will save them from being victims of various ills prevalent in the present day society especially drugs, crimes and other such bad habits. It is basically a win win situation for all the stakeholders – the youth, the parents, the society, the government and the industry.

INDIAS URBAN POOR AND HOMELESS NEED NIGHT SHELTERS

There is a need to take up the case of night shelters for our urban poor  homeless persons who otherwise   earn  very small incomes to keep their body and soul together by working  and doing menial jobs. They are very   distinct segment  from the easy going large numbers who are into begging. They may be earning their bread by doing odd jobs but are not as fortunate as some of us to have a shelter  of their own. They may be migrants from other parts of the country or our city's poor but otherwise they are earning their living by pulling rickshaws/hand carts/working as coolies or doing any other such  jobs.
This  step to provide night shelters will certainly go a long way to ameliorate the plight of thousands who sleep out on pavements in all the major cities or towns of our country.  Some of the cities have this facility but  there is no policy as such which governs their establishment.  As of now it is more in the hands of philanthropists.
The users  can be nominally charged for provision of this facility. In setting up of these night shelters the central govt can take up the help of the state governments to provide land,NGOs to organise these and take material and financial support from trusts, masjids,gurdwaras, mandirs and philanthropists who are willing to take up such causes or are already doing similar charities. The help of industrial houses can be also be taken who can build wings named under their trademark names or any name they want. Sulabh International can be roped in to maintain clean toilets/bathrooms. The area of these night shelters needs to be big enough where these home less can park their richshaws , rehris etc when they come to spend the night and feel secure.
 But is any body listening?