India must re-engineer skill ecosystem

New Delhi: As technological breakthroughs alter the nature of work globally, it is critical for India equip its workforce with employable skills, stimulate a sustainable development process and transit into a formal economy, according to a knowledge paper by industry body FICCI and consulting major PwC.

The country with a fast-paced and evolving economy must capitalise on its demographic advantage with nearly 65 per cent of the population in the age group of 15-59 years.

"About 4.5 million youth are expected to enter the job market each year," said the paper titled 'Fast Forward: Relevant Skills for a Buoyant Indian Economy.'

But only 10.8 per cent of the total Indian workforce has undergone any kind of skill training (2.2 per cent with formal training and 8.6 per cent with informal training as compared to 60 to 90 per cent of the workforce in developed economies.

"The current skill ecosystem needs to be re-engineered to cater to the evolving growth story and demands of Industry 4.0," said FICCI Co-Chairman Raman Kumar Sharma.

"Industries are focusing on new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, bionics, the Internet of Things, 3D printing and biotechnology, which build on and amplify one another. We as a society should have a clear view of what the future, driven by megatrends and our own actions, will look like." (ANI)