To meet the current shortfall of 6 million trained workers in the market, the government today launched the much-awaited National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF) which will enable students to opt for vocational courses and get certifications and degrees to pursue jobs.

“Time has come to give equal status to those who work with their hands and those who work with paper degrees. Paper degrees have not worked. We have seen that,” HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said after launching the framework. He said it would be implemented across the country from the 2012 academic session and once this framework is rolled, another will be prepared to target agricultural workforce. Agriculture sector currently employs 55 per cent of the workforce in India.

“We want a similar framework for agriculture by 2013,” Sibal said. Launching the framework that covers sectors like automobiles, film industry, IT and ITES, Sibal admitted that the academic component of the vocational course framework is not yet ready.

“An automobile engineer has to study physics also. We need to put the academic content in place and that will happen soon,” the minister said two years after the framework saw light of the day.

The occasion is important as at present, there is no framework or body in place to upgrade or formally certify skills. Now the AICTE has developed the framework which will be imparted through integration with the main education stream and thus provide the students multi-level entry and exit systems to enable them to seek employment after Class XII and beyond through college. The framework is expected to secure future for school-goers who fail to get higher education and drop out. It is estimated to empower 200 million students including dropouts by 2011 and secure opportunities for 150 million students who may not get access to higher education by 2020

How it will  work

• Student registers with an AICTE-approved technical institute for vocational diploma or degree
• Completes skill modules across seven certification levels, gets credits from Skill Knowledge Providers
• Technical board or university compiles vocational and formal education credits and accordingly certifies a student for a given level
• Candidates can work after each certification level or continue to acquire credits in part time or full time mode to complete the requirements for diploma or degree
• In all, 7 certification levels of ‘Knowledge and Skill’ have been identified
• First two levels refer to classes IX and X. These shall be with the CBSE schools or state boards affiliates
• Each level requires 1,000 hours of education and training in a year. For the vocational stream leading to a degree or a diploma, these hours shall have both vocational and academic component. Vocational component will go on increasing as the level of certification increases
• A candidate can choose either a vocational stream or a conventional stream to reach graduation level
  
  
  Source:The Tribune