Pawan Agarwal Fulbright New Century Scholar on Higher Education from India (2005/06)

1. Certification of skills and Recognition of Qualification – Benchmark Standards, skills upgrading and labor market oriented vocational trainingConceptual Issues Pawan Agarwal Fulbright New Century Scholar on Higher Education from India (2005/06)

2. Framework of presentation • What makes certification and recognition important? • Look at the ‘Future’ • How this can be delivered? • Lessons for India • Possible actions under Indo-EU partnership

3. The Barefoot College (Tilonia) • Trains the very poor rural youth in basic and practical skills related to preventive health, running schools, installing hand pumps, constructing rainwater harvesting tanks, laying piped water schemes, installing solar water systems, and fabricating solar lanterns, conducing pathology tests and delivering babies. No degree, diploma, certificate is awarded so that they do not migrate to the city (Indian Express - Nov 20, 2006). • Mobility holds the key to certification & recognition of qualifications

4. Mobility – Win-Win-Win(?) • Allows better division of labor – efficient outcome, improved efficiency and increased productivity - promotes most optimum division of labor [Economy benefits] • Reduce search cost and enables to get the best skilled person at the least cost [Employer benefits] • Better returns for skills in the form of higher wages [Individual benefits] • Greater competition resulting in lower wages [Individual may lose] – may hurt social cohesion

5. Growing integration of labour markets • Level of integration – Type of skill and type of organization • Nationally integrated labor markets for most skills • Labor markets are increasingly integrated at the global level for many skills,[both people and work move across national border] • Regional labour market integration efforts in the EU region • Formal sector employment greater integration?

6. Is only formal sector labour market getting integrated? • Huge differences between India and Europe [7 percent in India compared to 70 percent in Portugal; may be more in others], but similarities on… • Change in the form of organization – smaller organizational units • Are not necessarily less efficient • Do not always employ local staff • May cater to global markets • Change in employer-employee relationship - greater casualization of work – not necessarily bad?

7. Government versus private initiatives • Government efforts • Competency-based skill standards – 47 skills • Framework for skill development for the informal sector • Private initiatives • NASSCOM Assessment of Competence for BPO Sector (Pilot Project) – www.nasscom.org • National Skills Registry of NASSCOM • MeritTrac – Skills Assessment Company • Private accreditation of maritime manpower

8. Lessons for India • Certification and recognition issues important where mobility is high • Need to look at spectrum of skills – high end to low end (Degrees from higher / technical education, diplomas from polytechnics and certificates from ITIs) – pathways for horizontal and vertical mobility • Take into account private initiatives while developing country strategy • Use of common language – difficult • Next best thing - creating an understanding and drawing parallels • Heterogeneity of standards may make the entire effort meaningless

9. Indo-EU Partnership • Learning from experience • Opportunity to address skill shortages • Identify areas – engage with India for developing people with those skills benchmarked to EU standards • Facilitate temporary movement – immigration policies • India and Indians will get opportunity for high wage employment, increased remittances (Inevitability of skill shortages due to aging population despite unemployment – people not willing to take up certain kind of work - high wage rates)