Skill Development Research in India: a Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct an in-depth analysis of the literature and provide new insights on skill development research in India. Objectives in the study are twofold. First is to conduct descriptive analysis in terms of structural dimensions such as geographical context, focus on skill development, research methods, economic sector, type of training and origin of the study. The second objective is to conduct thematic analysis on importance of skill development, institutional and regulatory mechanisms, skill development as an antecedent for technology adoption, role of skill development in women empowerment, integrating skill development with secondary education and labour market reforms for skill development.

Design/methodology/approach
Systematic literature review method is employed to review 45 articles on skill development research in India conducted between 2004 and 2017.

Findings
The review discusses about the importance of skill development, the role of institutions such as NSDA and PMKVJ, skill development as a necessity in the advent of technological changes, an effective measure to empower women in the country and the need of integrating skill development with secondary education. Labour market reforms are required to overcome challenges such as mismatch between theory and practice, low quality of skills assimilated, the mismatch between demand and supply of skilled labour force, low level of in-house training, low cooperation from students and employees due to lack of incentives and lack of qualified teachers.

Originality/value
This study is the first to offer a systematic literature review on skill development. The study provides insights into the concept of skill development, specifically for academicians to carry out research in a niche area and for government authorities in policy formulation.

Full text

Skill development research in
India: a systematic literature
review and future research agenda
Clement Cabral and Rajib Lochan Dhar
Department of Management Studies,
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to conduct an in-depth analysis of the literature and provide new
insights on skill development research in India. Objectives in the study are twofold. First is to conduct
descriptive analysis in terms of structural dimensions such as geographical context, focus on skill development,
research methods, economic sector, type of training and origin of the study. The second objective is to conduct
thematic analysis on importance of skill development, institutional and regulatory mechanisms, skill
development as an antecedent for technology adoption, role of skill development in women empowerment,
integrating skill development with secondary education and labour market reforms for skill development.
Design/methodology/approach –Systematic literature review method is employed to review 45 articles
on skill development research in India conducted between 2004 and 2017.
Findings –The review discusses about the importance of skill development, the role of institutions such as
NSDA and PMKVJ, skill development as a necessity in the advent of technological changes, an effective
measure to empower women in the country and the need of integrating skill development with secondary
education. Labour market reforms are required to overcome challenges such as mismatch between theory and
practice, low quality of skills assimilated, the mismatch between demand and supply of skilled labour force,
low level of in-house training, low cooperation from students and employees due to lack of incentives and lack
of qualified teachers.
Originality/value –This study is the first to offer a systematic literature review on skill development. The
study provides insights into the concept of skill development, specifically for academicians to carry out
research in a niche area and for government authorities in policy formulation.
Keywords India, Systematic literature review, Technology adoption, Skill development,
Demographic dividend
Paper type Literature review
1. Introduction
With the increased demand for competitiveness amongst nations, the concept of skill
development has gained international importance. Skill development can solve two major
developmental challenges in the world: poverty reduction and unemployment (King and
McGrath, 2002). Skill development is regarded as the solution for emerging nations like
India, which faces enormous transitional problems. Prominent problems include building
democracy in accordance with human rights and tolerance while undertaking continuous
and quick development of its human resources to focus on competition from the external
environment (Horwitz, 2013). Hence, skill development gains significance in this context and
can be explained as the process of determining a workforce’s skill gaps and developing and
refining such skills for a trade or occupation.
The double-digit growth of India after its economic liberalisation generated immense
demand for a skilled workforce, which created tremendous employment opportunities,
especially in sectors such as manufacturing and service (Agrawal, 2014; Mehrotra and
Ghosh, 2014). However, economic growth did not translate into employment and instead
resulted in the phenomenon of jobless growth, which implies that the growth rate of
employment in the manufacturing sector remains negative (Dev, 2013). Along with jobless
growth, India faces challenges such as job shortages combined with a rise in the number of
unskilled labourers (Agrawal, 2012). It is also observed that a meagre number of people
Benchmarking: An International
Journal
Vol. 26 No. 7, 2019
pp. 2242-2266
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1463-5771
DOI 10.1108/BIJ-07-2018-0211
Received 19 July 2018
Revised 22 March 2019
Accepted 16 April 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1463-5771.htm
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(7 per cent) in India’s labour force have higher education, compared to the USA (92 per cent),
UK (52 per cent) and Japan (45 per cent) (Swaminathan, 2008). Further, if India fails to meet
the challenge related to the need for a skilled labour force within the next decade, the
outcome will be catastrophic and may override growth in non-agriculture production and a
shortage of a skilled labour force, resulting in the replacement of labour with machines
(Mehrotra et al., 2013). These circumstances highlight the immediate need for skill
development in the economy. Therefore, the Indian government has initiated steps to
formulate skill development initiatives through a qualification framework, namely, National
Skill Development Policy, 2009 (Blumenfeld and Malik, 2017).
India experiences the advantage of a demographic dividend because a young labour force
accounts for majority of its population. This demographic dividend can be increased by
improving the younger labour force’s skills (Agrawal, 2014). The Eleventh Plan Document,
2014 elaborates that India has one of the youngest populations in the world, wherein the
average age of the population is less than 24, as compared to nations such as China (30),
Europe (38) and Japan (41) (Batra, 2009). According to the World Bank Report, 2012, China’s
demographic dividend was exhausted in 2015, but India will have the benefit of the
demographic dividend until 2040 (Mehrotra et al., 2013). Additionally, the current scenario of
an aging population across the world demands the need for widening the skill gap, which will
increase the requirement for skilled human resources, in turn creating an opportunity for India
to meet its global and domestic demand (Agrawal, 2014).
Moreover, it is expected that in the future, India will have a surplus of 56m working-age
people, whereas the rest of the world will face a scarcity of around 47m working-age people
(Dev, 2013). According to Malik (2015), the benefits of this labour force surplus can be
reaped by developing the labour force’s potential and productivity, and the demographic
dividend can be realised through skill development and education. However, if the nation
fails to inculcate skill development initiatives, which are essential to develop talent, a
demographic nightmare may be the result (Batra, 2009; King, 2012; Mishra, 2014).
There is an increase in the number of studies being done on the concept of skill development.
Prior studies in business and management have provided insights into the significance of skill
development, such as an innovation-driven ecosystem for skill development (Shrotriya et al.,
2018), work skills, gendered identity (Gooptu and Chakravarty, 2018) and purchasing and
supply chain skills (Rahman and Qing, 2014). However, there is a paucity of studies examining
the state-of-the-art associated with skill development research in India. To address this gap, the
study conceptualises the construct and deliver insights for academicians and practitioners.
This article is structured in the following sequence. After an introduction, research
methodology is explained in Section 2. The results of the descriptive analysis are described
in Section 3. In Section 4, an overview of skill development research in India is elaborated.
Section 5 presents the implications from academicians and practitioners and the conclusion
is discussed in Section 6.
2. Research methodology
2.1 Experiential learning theory
This study uses experiential learning theory propounded by Kolb (1984) and several
studies have used the theory to understand the management and managerial process
(Holcomb et al., 2009; Hoover et al., 2010). The stages of experiential learning comprise of
reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, active experimentation and concrete
experience (Kolb, 1984; Vince, 1998). The theory discusses the process of learning in the
business organisation through experience. Experiential learning is viewed in two
perspectives, first, field-based learning which includes internships, practical, service
learning and so on. Second, classroom-based learning includes experiential learning in
class room via games, simulation, role playing, etc. (Lewis and Williams, 2006). As a
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whole, experiential learning model proposes three prerequisites, the experience should be
meaningful and enhance skill, knowledge or attitudinal level, critical thinking and
reflexivity and the ability to take a course of action to achieve desired results (Kolb and
Kolb, 2008). Based on the above-mentioned studies, skill development is contemplated as
an experiential learning which is learning by doing or acquiring knowledge, skills and
abilities through experience. The outcome of such learning would be development of
competencies, attitudes and novel thinking to engage in a given job or task. On the basis of
experiential learning theory, this study put forward two objectives. First, descriptive
analysis is conducted based on the classification framework (see Table I). Second, the
study asks the following research questions:
RQ1. What is the importance of skill development in the Indian context?
RQ2. What are the institutional and regulatory measures of skill development?
RQ3. How does skill development help in technology adoption?
RQ4. How does skill development act as a catalyst in women’s empowerment?
RQ5. Why is integration of skill development with higher education necessary?
RQ6. What is the significance of labour market reforms in skill development?
Classification Sub-themes Code
1. Geographical context Northern zone 1A
Southern zone 1B
Western zone 1C
Eastern zone 1D
North eastern zone 1E
Central zone 1F
Pan India 1G
2. Focus on skill development Entirely on the concept skill development 2A
Skill development and another/various factor/s 2B
Skill development is not predominant in the analysis 2C
3. Research methods Quantitative 3A
Qualitative 3B
Conceptual 3C
Quantitative and qualitative (mixed methods) 3D
Survey 3E
Case study 3F
4. Economic sector Agricultural and allied activities 4A
Industrial sector 4B
Service sector 4C
5. Constituents of skill development Vocational education 5A
Technical education 5B
General education 5C
6. Type of training Formal 6A
Informal 6B
Non-formal 6C
7. Origin of the study Asia 7A
Europe 7B
North America 7C
South America 7D
Australia 7E
Africa 7F
Table I.
The classification and
coding framework
incorporated in
analysis of the study
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2.2 Selection of articles
As per Torraco’s (2005) guidelines, this study integrated the various themes in selected
articles and formulated a novel research framework while designing a new perspective on
the concept. The procedure, adopted from Junior and Filho (2012), states that the initial step
is to search relevant articles from the databases for a systematic literature review. The
second step is to develop a categorisation framework to classify the articles in a logical
manner. The third step includes categorising relevant articles as per the framework and
assigning a suitable code. The fourth step constitutes conducting descriptive analysis and
answering research questions. In the final step, the authors highlight implications for
academicians and practitioners.
Prominent articles related to skill development were considered for the systematic
literature review, and credible databases were searched with keywords such as “skill
development”and “India”. The authors considered only journal articles and ignored
conference papers and books, because it is thought that journal articles are the primary
source for obtaining information and reporting novel findings (Ngai et al., 2008). The initial
searches were carried out in web-libraries such as Scopus and Web of Science (Wang and
Waltman, 2016) and journal databases such as Science Direct, Taylor and Francis, Emerald,
Sage and Springer. After checking the abstract for paper’s relevance, a decision was made
as to whether it would be included or excluded. The reliability of the work was improved
through the second author cross-checking the articles.
The year of the articles’publication was filtered for the period 2004 to 2017. A total of 161
articles were downloaded and tabulated in an Excel sheet. After excluding irrelevant articles
the number of articles considered for this study was 45. Studies such as Bezerra and Gomes
(2016), Dubey et al. (2017), Jabbour (2013) and Potdar et al. (2017) followed these procedures
to conduct a systematic literature review.
2.3 Classification and coding
The classification framework was used to conduct a descriptive analysis which acts as a
guideline for classifying and codifying the prominent studies associated with skill
development in India. All the studies were classified under each structural dimension, which
is further categorised into different sub-headings. After content analysis, the articles were
coded according to the structural dimensions and sub-classifications corresponding to the
classification framework.
Classification 1 consists of the geographical context of the study, i.e. zonal
categorisation of Indian states and Union territories. The sub-categories under
Classification 1 include the northern zone, southern zone, eastern zone, western zone,
north eastern zone and central zone. Classification 2 depicts the magnitude of skill
development described in the selected study and is classified into three levels “entirely on
the concept skill development”,“skill development and another/various factor/s”and
“skill development is not predominant in the analysis”( Jabbour, 2013; Amui et al., 2017).
In Classification 3, the research methods adopted in the articles are mentioned; their scope
includes quantitative, qualitative, a combination of qualitative and quantitative,
conceptual, survey and case study ( Jabbour, 2013; Bezerra and Gomes, 2016).
Classification 4 describes the economic sector indicated in the article, and the
sub-category consists of agriculture, industry and service sector. The elements of skill
development are explained in Classification 5 and include vocational, technical and
general education. Classification 6 comprises of type of training described in the study and
encompasses formal, informal and non-formal training. The final categorisation involves
Classification 7, which portrays the origin of the study, i.e. the continent wherein the
authors’affiliation was considered (Amui et al., 2017; Potdar et al., 2017).
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Thematic analysis was conducted to answer the research questions. Based on the
research questions, related themes in selected studies were categorised, and the description
of concepts which pertained to the research questions were identified. The research articles
were synthesised, and the implications were put forward by the authors.
3. Descriptive analysis
3.1 Results of the literature analysis
Table II depicts the classification of prominent studies considered for the literature review.
The main contribution of each analysed study has been shown in Table III.
3.1.1 Geographical context. The authors categorised different states of India into
six zones in accordance with two legal statutes of India, i.e., State Re-organisation Act, 1956
and North Eastern Council Act, 1972 (Ministry of Home Affairs, 2016). The six geographical
zones and corresponding states are mentioned in Table IV. The results indicate that a
majority of the studies were not confined to a specific state (Figure 1). Further, more than
half of the studies (55.10 per cent) were conducted on a Pan India basis. Regarding the zonal
area, the studies’main focus was based on the southern zone (14.29 per cent). However, there
were no studies in the southern state of Karnataka and Union Territory of Pondicherry,
Lakshadweep, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The central zone can be placed in the
third position, as 10.20 per cent of all the studies were conducted in this zone. Further, it was
found that no studies were conducted in Uttarakhand, Bihar, Goa, Rajasthan, Sikkim,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab and north eastern states.
Union territories not included in any study were Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu,
New Delhi and Chandigarh.
3.1.2 Focus on skill development. Classification 2 is on the basis of focus on skill
development in India (Figure 2). The lion’s share of studies discussed skill development,
i.e. 83.33 per cent (2A and 2B). However, only a small number of studies, i.e. 16.67 per cent
discussed 2C, i.e. skill development is not predominant. The results signify the importance
of skill development construct because most studies discussed the concept in a detailed
manner.
3.1.3 Research methods. Classification 3 discusses the research methods adopted in the
studies (Figure 3). The most common research methods employed in the study involve
3B.3C –qualitative combined with the conceptual, 3D –mixed methods, 3D.3E –mixed
methods combined with the survey, 3B.3E –Qualitative combined with the survey, 3B.3F –
qualitative combined with the case study, and 3B.3C.3E –qualitative and conceptual
combined with the survey.
The majority of studies emphasised qualitative along with survey, and mixed methods,
both of which account for 23.81 per cent each. Mixed methods with survey hold the third
position. These results indicate that studies on skill development have been analysed from a
wide range of methods. However, it is to be highlighted that studies conducted only through
case studies and conceptual studies are absent. The lack of conceptual study has created
ambiguity around the term skill development, and future studies need to use this research
method to rectify the issue. The case studies can be carried out in a specific Indian state,
considering it as a sample area. It is observed that the majority of the studies was conducted
on macro-level analysis and can be solved by employing case studies that focus on
individual skill development.
3.1.4 Economic sector. The categorisation of the economic sector is made in
Classification 4 (Figure 4). The analysis shows that approximately 60 per cent of studies
focus on service sector and only 29.55 per cent on the industrial sector. The majority of
studies were done on the service sector due to the nature of skill development, as it belongs
to the educational sector, a sub-sector in the service industry. The results indicate that
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Study
Geographical
context
Focus on
skill
development
Research
methods
Economic
sector
Constituents
of skill
development
Type of
training
Origin
of the
study
Agrawal (2012) 1G 2C 3D 4C 5A.5C 6A.6B.6C 7A
Agrawal (2014) 1G 2A 3D 4C 5A.5C 6A.6C 7A
Agrawal (2016) 1G 2D 3D 4C 5A.5B.5C 6A 7A
Ahmed (2016) 1G 2C 3D 4C 5A.5C 6A 7A
Anant (2015) 1G 2C 3B.3C 4C 5A.5C 6A 7A
Batra (2009) 1G 2C 3B.3C 4C 5A.5B.5C 6A.6B 7A
Bhardwaj (2014) 1G 2C 3D.3E 4B 5A.5B.5C 7A
Damodaran (2008) 1G 2A 3D.3C 6B 7A
Das (2011) 1G 2C 3B.3C 4C 5A.5B.5C 6A.6C 7A
Das (2015) 1G 2A 3B.3C 4B 5A.5B 5C 6A 7A
Dev (2013) 1G 2C 3D 4A.4B.4C 5A.5C 6A.6B.6C 7A
Ghosh (2008) 1G 2A 3D 4A 5A.5B.5C 7A
Hegde and Narahari
(2009)
1G 2C 3D.3F 4B.4C 7A
Hukampal and
Bhowmick (2016)
1C 2C 3E.3D 4B 7A
Jauhari (2006) 1G 2A 3B.3C.3E 4C 5C 6A 7A
Jauhari and
Manaktola (2009)
1G 2C 3B.3C 4C 5C 6A 7A
King (2012) 1G 2A 3B.3C 4C 5A.5B.5C 6A.6B.6C 7B
Krishnakumar et al.
(2013)
1B 2D 3D.3E.3F 4C 6A 7A
Malik (2015) 1G 2C 3D 7A
Malik and Nilakant
(2011)
1G 2D 3B.3E.3F 4C 5B.5C 6A.6B 7E
Mehrotra and Ghosh
(2014)
1G 2C 3B.3C 5A.5B.5C 6A 7A
Mehrotra et al. (2013) 1G 2A 3B.3C 4A.4B.4C 5A.5B.5C 6A.6B.6C 7A
Mehrotra et al. (2015) 1B 1C 2C 3D.3E.3F 4B.4C 5A 6A 7A
Mehta and Sherry
(2009)
1F 2D 3D.3E 4B 5A 6C 7A
Mishra (2014) 1D 2B 3B.3F 4C 5A.5C 6A 7A
Narayanan (2016) 1G 2C 3D 5A.5B.5C 6A.6B 7C
Okada (2004) 1A.1C 2C 3B.3E.3F 4B 5B.5C 6A.6B 7A
Pallikadavath et al.
(2016)
1B 2C 3D.3E 5A.5C 6A 7A.7B
Panda (2015) 1B.1D.1F 2C 3D.3E 4B 6A 7A
Pattanaik and Nayak
(2013)
1G 2D 3D 4A.4B.4C 7A
Peters et al. (2010) 1B.1F 2D 3D.3E 4C 7C
Pilz and Li (2014) 1G 2C 3B.3E 4B 5A.5C 6A.6B 7B.7C
Pilz and Wilmshofer
(2015)
1D 2C 3B.3E 4A 5A.5C 6A.6B.6C 7B
Pilz et al. (2015) 1A.1B 2A 3B.3E 4C 5A.5C 6B.6C 7A.7B
Pradhan et al. (2017) 2C 3A 3E 4A 7A
Rao (2015) 1G 2B 3B.3C 4C 5C 6A 7A
Rolleston (2014) 1B 2B 3D 4C 5C 6A 7B
Saini and Budhwar
(2008)
1A 2C 3B.3F 4B 6A.6B 7A.7B
Shanmugham and
Kishore (2012)
1G 2C 3B.3C 4C 5A.5B.5C 6A 7A
Singh (2007) 1G 2C 3A 3E 4A 7A
(continued )
Table II.
Classification and
codifying of the
analysed studies
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studies need to diversify into “4A –Agriculture and allied activities”(11.36 per cent), a
category which absorbs the maximum amount of unskilled labour force in India (Kakad,
2002). India has been conventionally known as an agrarian-based economy and one of the
leading producers of wheat, paddy, and milk (Panda, 2015). The major share of the labour
force has been employed in agriculture, which accounts for 52 per cent of employment and
15 per cent of GDP in India (Agrawal, 2014). Mehrotra et al. (2013) stated that the labour
force engaged in agriculture, i.e. 244m (2009–2010) cannot be termed as unskilled, as they
were reasonably skilled in crop production and allied activities. The problem arises when
the labour force moves from the agricultural sector to other sectors due to lack of training. In
such cases they can be termed as unskilled. In recent years, several innovative and
technological changes have taken place in the Indian agricultural sector which has created
huge skill gaps that need to be addressed by skill development initiatives.
3.1.5 Elements of skill development. According to Mehrotra et al. (2013), skill development
constitutes vocational, technical and general education and consequently, Classification 5
has been categorised as per the definition (Figure 5). The results reveal that general
education has been discussed more than other sub-categories, i.e. 42.86 per cent, followed by
vocational education (35.71 per cent). The studies focused on vocational education because
of the narrow perspective associated with skill. Hence, there is need for skill development for
elaboration and inculcation of the element technical education (21.43 per cent). This is in line
with the findings of Mehrotra et al. (2013), who stated that skill development was viewed
from the narrow perspective of vocational and general education by ignoring technical
education. Drafting a specific definition in the Indian context can help provide clarity about
the constituents of skill development. Moreover, technical education in India is significant,
and future studies need to focus on this issue.
3.1.6 Type of training. The sixth classification deals with the type of training (Figure 6).
The analysis reveals that there are only a few studies of “non-formal training”in the Indian
context, whereas a majority of studies explain the role of formal training in skill development.
The analysis recommends considering not only non-formal training but informal training for
future studies. Formal training has been most assessed in the selected studies; it accounts for
57.14 per cent, which is higher than informal training (26.79 per cent) and non-formal training
(16.07 per cent). Non-formal training in the Indian economy is important due to its capacity to
deliver skill sets to the labour force. It is evident from the available data that 11m individuals
in the labour force received skills through formal training, whereas 33m were trained through
non-formal methods (Dev, 2013). Hence, future studies need to focus on the impact of informal
and non-formal training in the Indian context.
3.1.7 Origin of the study. The origin of the study was mentioned under Classification 7
(Figure 7). The analysis revealed that three out of four studies were contributed by
Asian authors, with appreciable contributions from Japan and Indonesia. The second
Study
Geographical
context
Focus on
skill
development
Research
methods
Economic
sector
Constituents
of skill
development
Type of
training
Origin
of the
study
Singh and Singh
(2008)
1A 2C 3A 3E 4C 6A 7A
Srivastava and Dhar
(2015)
1D.1F 2D 3D.3E 4C 5C 6A 7A
Swaminathan (2008) 1G 2B 3B.3E 4C 5A.5B.5C 6A.6B 7A
Tara and Kumar
(2016)
1G 2A 3B.3C 5A.5B.5C 6A.6B 7A
Vikas (2015) 1F 2C 3B.3F 4C 6A 7A
Table II.
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Sl. No. Author/s Main contribution of each analysed study
1. Agrawal (2012) The author studied about labour market outcomes concerned with
vocational graduates by comparing their employment as well as earning.
The results show that there exists high level of unemployment among
the vocational graduates, especially in the age category of 1529 years. In
addition, high rate of unemployment exists among vocational graduates
than the general secondary graduates’unemployment rate
2. Agrawal (2014) The study interrogated labour market outcomes related with vocational
trainees, in addition to their employment as well as unemployment
scenario to ascertain the favourableness of VET programmes. The large
share of VET holders belongs to non-formal segment and lion’s share of
them are casual labours or self-employed. The tremendous opportunities
that exist in the informal sector for skill development need to be utilised
through the proper formulation of system
3. Agrawal (2016) The author investigates justification regarding the need of educational
expenditure on the economic system in India. The study analysed four
factors namely., overall evaluation of higher education structure, low
ratio in public expenditure and GDP, increase in Pupil-Teacher ratio
(PTR) and low ratio of enrolment
4. Ahmed (2016) The author explores to comprehend whether the trained individuals
after the fulfilment of VET, remains in the labour market or not. It also
examines the incentive of safety net prevailing among trained
individuals of VET. The unemployment among the VET holders with
low level of general education is extremely high
5. Anant (2015) The author elaborated the key challenges which consist of human capital
development and improving English proficiency, lack of access to skilled
manpower, as well as skill and competency development
6. Batra (2009) The author highlighted the major skill development and educational
initiatives implemented by government through mission mode activities.
The lackadaisical approach in implementing skill development
initiatives by various government institutions has slow down the growth
of knowledge economy
7. Bhardwaj (2014) The study revealed that skill development (education) helps women to
formulate innovative ideas and these ideas would transform to establish
enterprises. The study recommends that skill development and training
would help women to enhance their entrepreneurial skill
8. Damodaran (2008) The article demonstrated the problem of skill deficiency in India and
argues that not only the market failure but also restricted outcomes from
the private parties led to show positive results in skill development of
man power.
9. Das (2011) The author asserts that lifelong learning is necessary to develop human
resource in knowledge economy. Open Educational Resources (OER)
acts as a tool to nurture occupational as well as life skills among the
young learners
10. Das (2015) The paper portrayed how schemes such as National Skill Development
Mission (NSDM) as well as National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)
helps to foster skill development in PPP mode. It also concludes that skill
development of rural youth helps in job diversification as well as
upliftment from poverty
11. Dev (2013) The study investigates the Post-2015 Development Agenda as well as
evaluates the scenario of economic growth and employment in India.
This study states that there is decreasing growth and employment in
economic sector and highlights the importance to skill development and
need to shift the focus from quantity to quality
(continued )
Table III.
Main contribution of
each analysed study
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Sl. No. Author/s Main contribution of each analysed study
12. Ghosh (2008) The study evaluated the skill development training of centrally
sponsored programmes like TRYSEM and SGSY. The findings reveal
that low level of importance is given to skill development factors in these
programmes such as training and funds for training
13. Hegde and Narahari (2009) The author asserted that there is no requirement of investment in skill
development because the entrepreneurs acquire their prerequisited skills
through inheritance. The use of technology would be helpful to achieve
the entrepreneurial goals
14. Hukampal and Bhowmick
(2016)
The study asserted the criteria such as skill development, information
accessibility, production enhancements as well as entrepreneurial
development were vital which are required for the notion of innovation
network in rural areas
15. Jauhari (2006) The study identified that skill gap exists in demand and supply of man
power in hospitality industry and it could be mitigated through skill
development initiatives. The study recommends the requirement of
academic- industrial partnership especially in association to ensure
growth of managers in the employment
16. Jauhari and Manaktola
(2009)
The study stated that the key issues in the hospitality industry are lack
of proper education, absence of skill development and competencies,
negative perception about the industry, compensation as well as work
environment and improving the existing opportunities for employment
17. King (2012) The study reveals that India lacks training in the unorganised sector,
which accounts for 93% of aggregate employment in India. The study
suggested that lack of training institutes and ITI could be covered by the
private participation
18. Krishnakumar, Devi, and
Rao (2013)
The model developed in this study predicts the future requirement of
labour in skill development, organisational development and employee
empowerment. The model also formulates two indices namely.
organisational performance and entrepreneurial orientation to employee
19. Malik (2015) The study stated that Wealth Index/Standard of Living (SLI) has
significant relationship to youth development in India. The other
findings involve a) rural female youth are disadvantaged than urban
youth b) youth from poor household are unemployed than rich
households c) poverty has significant effect in Indian youth development
20. Malik and Nilakant (2011) The study evaluates the determinants that effect decision making on
training in Information Technology enabled Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) SMEs in India. The key factors that include in training
of SMEs are staff turnover, process complexity and client specification
21. Mehrotra and Ghosh
(2014)
The author discussed about the need for national training fund to mitigate
the skill deficiency in the nation. The authors recommended to levy tax
from organised sector and channelise to unorganised sector. The demand
side of financing youth can be rectified by providing stipend
22. Mehrotra et al. (2013) The study estimated the number of manpower in three contexts required
for the year 2022 and warned about the lack of quality in education and
demand-supply mismatch
23. Mehrotra et al. (2015) The authors asserted that companies’faces challenge in term of quantity
and quality of skilled man power. The authors delineated the
significance of adopting German dual system of VET which ensures
vocational education to be dynamic, formal structure and integrated
network
24. Mehta and Sherry (2009) The study recommended that training, skill development and schooling
of children helps them to be involved in labour market with requisite
skill sets. The child labour needs to be abolished and there is necessity to
(continued )
Table III.
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Sl. No. Author/s Main contribution of each analysed study
create awareness and policy formulation to provide emphasis on
education as well as skill development of the children
25. Mishra (2014) The study highlighted the necessity of skill development and vocational
training due to its limitation on natural as well as economic resources.
The study quoted the case of Centurion University and Gram Tarang
(CUGT) which shows how less resources can be handled through
inclusive education and industrial participation
26. Narayanan (2016) The author delineated that the preposition of wage gap decomposition is
due to lack of skill and as a result informal workers earn less than formal
workers. Therefore, skill development initiatives help to increase the
employment opportunities as well as reduce formalinformal wage gap
27. Okada (2004) The author discusses about the replacing patterns in terms of skill
development among Indian manpower employed in small domestic
suppliers. The author mentioned that several institutional mechanism
generated by assembling companies have major role in improving
supplier’s skill and it has led the supply chain to evolve as a
learning chain
28. Pallikadavath, Rajan, and
Wilson (2016)
The authors explored the relationship of post-sterilisation as well as low
fertility’s influence on women’s skill development and formal education,
and results indicate that these women prefer vocational training over
skill development. Therefore, government need to facilitate skill
development indicatives for women in post-sterilisation period
29. Panda (2015) The study identified the factors in the study which comprises of product
diversification, firm size, skill development of manpower, managerial
network intensity as well as market integration. Skill development of
manpower acts as vital predictors among the factors
30. Pattanaik and Nayak
(2013)
The study predicted the employment elasticity and employment output
pattern in the Indian economy. The issues which were identified include
lack of skill development initiatives, expansionary government
measures, mutual interdependence, and employment generation in non-
agricultural activities in village areas
31. Peters et al. (2010) The author emphasised the upgradation of training facilities for skill
development as well as presence of necessary tools for productive
utilisation of prevailing professional skills which helps to improve job
satisfaction of health workers
32. Pilz and Li (2014) The authors narrate about the vocational as well as training pattern in
German-based companies incorporated in USA, China and India. The
results indicate that there exists localisation effect in three nations and
China has a slight similarity with Breufkoncept (German concept of
vocationalisation)
33. Pilz and Wilmshofer (2015) The authors analysed the educational state of affairs among fishermen
families in rural regions of Odisha. The study recommended the
importance of non-formal training among the young people due to its
attribute of being tailor-made, satisfying vivid needs and supply driven
34. Pilz et al. (2015) The study posited that the street vendors acquire skills through informal
employment/ family businesses rather than formal vocational education.
The authors suggest for propagating non-formal training help to
empower the street food vendors
35. Pradhan et al. (2017) The study established the impact of organisational learning as well as
adaptive performance and moderating effect among the constructs. The
importance of emotional intelligence in enhancing organisational
learning in an organisation was also discussed
36. Rao (2015) The author postulated the importance of soft skill training and how it
helps to enhance the employability of students. To overcome the
(continued )Table III.
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position for studies on skill development is occupied by the European continent, especially
Germany, a nation known for its unique mode of skill training, i.e. German dual mode.
Studies on the sub-category “North America”are mainly from the US. There is only one
study from Australia (7E) and none from South America (7D) and Africa (7F). Future
collaboration will help to adapt best practices from these continents.
4. An overview of skill development research in India
Skill development is defined as “acquisition of practical competencies, know-how, and
attitudes to perform a trade or occupation in the labour market, either through formal public
Sl. No. Author/s Main contribution of each analysed study
challenges, Indian education system needs to use advanced tools to
provide soft skill training and interaction between academics
and industry
37. Rolleston (2014) The study described about the enrolment as well as learning related to
two category of children who were born during the period 1994/1995 and
2001/2002 in the countries such as India, Peru, Ethiopia and Vietnam.
Lowest difference between two cohorts were observed in Indian context.
The author recommends to give importance to primary school enrolment
in India
38. Saini and Budhwar (2008) The paper discussed about the critical issues of human resource
management in SMEs and also stated the indigenous realities concerned
with skill development, employees’investment practices, formulating
employee relations, providing social, emotional and financial backup to
manpower and formulating labour legal framework
39. Shanmugham and Kishore
(2012)
IGNOU plays a major role in providing Open and Distance Learning in
India. Prior Learning and Assessment (PLA) method and IGNOU
Community College Scheme could be employed as an efficient tool to
improve skill development in the society
40. Singh (2007) The author identified the significance of emotional intelligence as a skill
and its impact on leadership style as well as leadership effectiveness.
Within the leadership style, benevolent-autocratic style were most
effective as compared to other forms
41. Singh and Singh (2008) The study investigated the role of coping job stress through emotional
intelligence and found negative relationship between emotional
intelligence and organisational role stress. The study also states that no
significant relationship exists between emotional intelligence and role
stress, which excludes Inter-Role Distance
42. Srivastava and Dhar
(2015)
The study developed a scale to assess training comprehensiveness The
study stated that skill development, training comprehensiveness as well
as human resource development practices influence extra role behaviour
through developing self-efficacy among the employees
43. Swaminathan (2008) The key recommendation from the study after the assessment of AICTE
Review Committee Report is absence of industrial engagement,
formalisation of the unorganised/informal sector, lack of qualified
faculties and the issues in skill development and training
44. Tara and Kumar (2016) The study stated that in order to achieve knowledge-based economy, it is
critical to nurture professional skilled workforce. The study discusses
about the governmental initiatives, wide range of schemes and
programmes for skill development, and managerial processes as well as
barriers for these initiatives
45. Vikas (2015) The case study describes about the turnaround strategies adopted by
the company MPCONS with emphasis on CSR, skill development,
personality development, corporate training, financial inclusion, etc.
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or private schools, institutions or centres, informal, traditional apprenticeships or
non-formal semi-structured training”(King and Palmer, 2010, p.10). Skills have been viewed
in the studies from various perspectives. Shanmugham and Kishore (2012) state that skills
constitute core skills and higher-order skills. Core skills include interpersonal,
entrepreneurial and life-coping skills, while higher-order skills include problem-solving
and presentation skills. Mishra (2014) delineates skills as core and foundation skills, soft
skills, life skills and risk-bearing skills. The four prerequisites of skill development are
economic, technical social and political aspects. Regarding economic elements, skill
development co-creates value in people, optimum utilisation of resources, and employment
opportunities. The technical element includes capacity-building and continuous learning
to adopt technologies, while the social element consists of developing self-reliant and
self-sufficient people and job mobility. Last, the political element consists of good
governance and developing a sense of responsibility among people (Mishra, 2014). In recent
years, due to the advent of a gig economy and the Indian economy being driven by the
service sector, skill development has been redefined to focus on soft skills. Hence, soft skills
Entirely on the
concept Skill
Development
Skill Development
and another/various
factor/s
Skill Development is
not predominant in
the analysis
9
26
7
Focus on skill development
Figure 2.
Frequency
distribution for the
focus on skill
development
Northern
Zone
Southern
Zone
Western
Zone
Eastern Zone North
Eastern Zone
Central Zone Pan India
3
7
34
0
5
27
Geographical Context
Figure 1.
Frequency
distribution for the
geographical context
Zone States
Northern zone Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, New Delhi
a
and of Chandigarh
a
Southern zone Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep
a
,
Andaman and Nicobar
a
and Puducherry
a
Eastern zone Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Sikkim and West Bengal
Western zone Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Daman and Diu
a
and Dadra and Nagar Haveli
a
Central zone Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
North eastern zone Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland
Note:
a
Union Territory
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs (2016)
Table IV.
Zonal classification of
States in India
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were integrated as a significant dimension of skill development initiatives and are regarded
as a means to provide employability (Rao, 2015).
By 2040, India will have become the world’s largest economy, backed by achieving the
goals of poverty eradication and economic development. The nation also records one of the
fastest GDP growth rates in the world and is expected to surpass China in the near future
to become the fastest-growing economy (Sinha and Dorschner, 2010). However, India’s
double-digit growth is not reflected in employment growth, which is primarily due to the
lack of a formally trained skilled workforce. Vocational- and technical-educated individuals
10
Qualitative and Conceptual
Quantitative/Qualitative
Quantitative/Qualitative and Survey
Qualitative and Survey
Qualitative and Case study
Qualitative, Conceptual and Survey
Others
10
5331
10
Research Methods
Figure 3.
Frequency
distribution for the
research methods
Formal training Informal training Non-formal training
32
15 9
Type of training
Figure 6.
Frequency
distribution for type
of training
Vocational
education
Technical education General education
25 15
30
Constituents of skill development
Figure 5.
Frequency
distribution for the
constituents of skill
development
Agricultural and
allied activities
Industrial sector Service sector
513
26
Economic Sector
Figure 4.
Frequency
distribution for the
economic sector
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secure less income than secondary-educated individuals (King, 2012). This has resulted in
the rise of educated unemployment rather than uneducated employment among youth
(Agrawal, 2014).
India has made a plausible claim for embedding a knowledge-based economy by
employing a major section of the labour force, which has low relevance for novel
technologies and work practices for knowledge economy (McGrath, 2002). Furthermore, the
lack of skills for the knowledge economy is the biggest policy challenge that the government
needs to address. This section describes the evolution of skill development, its importance
as an antecedent to technology, role in women’s empowerment, integration with secondary
education, and challenges and possible solutions for labour market reforms are provided
after reviewing the selected articles.
4.1 Importance of skill development
India has recorded double-digit economic growth, but the nation has failed to generate
employment opportunities and as a result, is experiencing jobless growth. The nation can
register better employment status through increased productivity and improving skills in
the labour force (Pattanaik and Nayak, 2013). According to the World Bank Institute in
India and Knowledge Economy’s report, a skilled and educated workforce is one of the four
pillars of a knowledge economy (Batra, 2009). It is to be noted that there are multiple
benefits of skill development, and it is one of the Millennium Development Goals to ensure a
better livelihood for the people (Dev, 2013). Eminent scholars have viewed the importance of
skill development in the Indian context at macro-level and meso-level perspective, but they
have ignored the significance of conducting studies at the micro-level, especially in the
context of “individual skill development”. The macro-level benefits described by the studies
involve reducing poverty (Dev, 2013; Agrawal, 2014), reaping the benefit of the demographic
dividend (Agrawal, 2012), socio-economic empowerment of vulnerable groups (Das, 2015;
Tara and Kumar, 2016), economic growth in a knowledge-based economy (Das, 2011),
preventing of social evils like child labour through bargaining (Mehta and Sherry, 2009),
and generating employment, rapid inclusiveness and sustainable growth (Dev, 2013). At the
meso-level, employees’skill development is helpful for organisations to achieve growth
(Saini and Budhwar, 2008; Panda, 2015), innovation and entrepreneurial development
(Bhardwaj, 2014; Hukampal and Bhowmick, 2016), role behaviour by enhanced self-efficacy
(Srivastava and Dhar, 2015), a turnaround strategy (Vikas, 2015) and a non-financial
motivator for improving job satisfaction (Peters et al., 2010).
4.2 Institutional and regulatory measures of skill development in India
Since independence from British rule, the Indian economy has followed the concept of
centralised planning, which was implemented through the five-year plan[1]. The 11th five-year
plan (2007–2012) is prominently known as the “Education Plan”because of various policies
that focus on higher education and skill development initiatives. The scheme’s aim is to train
the labour force in the formal and informal sectors, so that the share of the trained labour force
Asia Europe North
America
South
America
Australia Africa
32
73010
Origin of the study
Figure 7.
Frequency
distribution for origin
of the study
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will increase from the current 2 per cent to a mammoth 50 per cent by 2022 (King, 2012). The
core aim can be achieved through “Coordinated Action of Skill Development”formulated in
the 11th five-year plan (Agrawal, 2012), which subsequently led to the formation of two
institutions for skill development, i.e. the Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill
Development (PMNCSD) and the National Skill Development Coordination Board (NSDCB)
(Dev, 2013). The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) was incorporated in 2008 to
provide collaboration between the central government and industrial bodies. The National
Skill Development Fund (NSDF) was developed for channelling government funds, and acts
as a fund manager for distributing funds to the needy (Das, 2015). The institution has aimed
to build skill development initiatives with the private sector to achieve the target of nurturing
a skilled labour force of 500m by 2022 (Agrawal, 2012). The initiatives can be achieved
through the Skill Sector Centre (SSC), which has created 1661 Qualification Packs and covers
4420 specific National Occupation Standards (Tara and Kumar, 2016). The emphasis of the
five-year plan is to launch the “Skill Development Mission”with a huge outlay of Rs228bn
(Agrawal, 2012).
The 12th five-year plan, which commenced in 2012, gave vital importance to the quality
of employment and skill development (Dev, 2013). The plan supported the formation of
institutions and infrastructure to foster skill development across the nation. In 2013,
PMNCSD, NSDCB and the Office of Adviser to Prime Minister on Skill Development merged
to form a single entity known as the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA). The core
aim of the NSDA is to develop essential infrastructure and strategic guidance by nurturing a
skilled workforce in the Indian economy (Das, 2015).
The Government of India has formulated an independent ministry to govern skill
development initiatives, i.e. the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Tara and
Kumar, 2016). The Ministry aims to facilitate an extensive infrastructure to provide training
facilities through institutions such as National Skill Development Corporation, NSDA and
Directorate General of Training. The Ministry has been engaged in formulating several
institutional innovations to enhance training programmes (Ahmed, 2016).
Government efforts continue in policies like the National Skill Development Policy, 2015
to encounter the dearth of skill development by formulating standards and identifying skill
gaps in the nation. The policy is stipulated to achieve the target of a skilled labour force of
402.9m by 2022 (Ahmed, 2016). Furthermore, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
(PMKVY), the largest vocational training scheme in the world, was launched in 2015 as a
part of the Skill India Mission. The objective of the PMKVY is to skill, upskill and reskill
2.4m labour force in different trades in a year. The government has launched the scheme
Udaan, which primarily focuses on sensitive regions like Jammu and Kashmir and North
East states (Tara and Kumar, 2016). Recently, skill universities such as Rajasthan-ILD
Skills University (RISU) and Bharatiya Skill Development University have been established
(The Hindu, 2017). These institutions provide standard training to develop different
skills through a well-designed curriculum and assessment procedures for attracting the
reluctant younger generation which considers vocational training as less-lucrative careers
(Tara and Kumar, 2016).
4.3 Skill development as an antecedent for technology adoption
Volatile changes in societal trends demand upgrading time-honoured skills of the labour
force to be in line with fast-changing technologies (Hegde and Narahari, 2009). Supporting
these arguments, Saini and Budhwar (2008) state the need for a skilled labour force in Indian
SMEs to survive global competition, where dynamic changes are taking place through
technological advancement. India relies on conventional modes to impart skill among the
labour force, and these modes are insufficient for employing new technology a key measure
to enhance productivity (Agrawal, 2014). However, to achieve such a level of technological
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advancement, revising the traditional model of skill development and the existing mode of
skill acquisition is essential (McGrath, 2002).
Increased competition after the New Economic Policy has demanded that India remain
competitive, forcing industrial units to reduce excess labour and adopt new technologies.
A decline in the number of skilled employees has forced organisations to depend on
automation, which has hiked the unemployment rate in India (Pattanaik and Nayak, 2013).
The adoption of new technologies has not only led to the development of new products and
services by industrial units but also to increase the labour productivity (Ghosh and
Chandrasekhar, 2007). Therefore, it is inevitable to upskill the labour force through lifelong
learning aligned with technological changes in the economy. There may be some negative
impacts on labour-intensive nations like India during initial implementation. However, this
needs to be considered as an opportunity to impart the skills required and enable the labour
force to embrace new technologies.
4.4 Women’s empowerment and skill development
Women’s empowerment can be termed as facilitating and promoting the economic, social
and political positions of women in society. Skill development initiatives strengthen the
process of women’s empowerment by imparting adequate knowledge and enhancing
women’s sense of belief in their ability to perform a job. In the Indian context, increase in the
gender gap, especially in the area of skill development, education and income level, are
visible mainly because of male domination in the workforce (Kakad, 2002).
According to the Global Gender Gap Index, India is ranked 108th out of 144 nations,
which indicates dismal participation of women in the workforce, as well as low wages for
women (World Economic Forum, 2017). The literature has identified several barriers to skill
development and entrepreneurship for women, e.g., restrictions in time, resource availability
and lack of knowledge of novel technologies (Bhardwaj, 2014). In addition, lack of literacy
and education, absence of change in work status, family pressure, paucity of employment
opportunities, and dearth of transportation system that supports odd-hour journeys were
identified (Pallikadavath et al., 2016). To overcome the gender gap and support women’s
empowerment, it is necessary to emphasise skill development and training for women in
India (Bhardwaj, 2014). Vivam Solid Waste Management in Maharashtra is an example. The
organisation provides regular income to women through developing skills and promotes
entrepreneurship by generating electricity from waste (Tara and Kumar, 2016). To facilitate
such organisations, stakeholders such as academicians, government, private organisations
and NGOs need to support skill development initiatives for the betterment of women’s
livelihoods (Tara and Kumar, 2016). Besides, the barriers can be rectified through gender
sensitisation, capacity building, legal framework and market mechanism to support skill
development (Kakad, 2002).
4.5 The role of secondary education in skill development
India has been evolving from an agrarian economy to a service-based economy, wherein the
latter sector contributed 72.5 per cent to gross value added (GVA) growth in 2017–2018
(Economic Survey, 2018). Due to the service sector’s significance in India’s economy, the
general education system is invaluable for developing competencies in the labour force
(Mehrotra et al., 2013). In India, the education system has been classified into primary,
upper-primary, secondary and higher education. The secondary education in India begins at
the age of 1416 years.
A secondary-educated labour force has significance because those who complete such a
level of education can be regarded as skilled labour (Mehrotra et al., 2013). Unemployment
among such skilled labourers is high (Ahmed, 2016), and wages and earnings of skilled
labourers (includes casual and regular labourers) are low (Agrawal, 2012). Also, secondary
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education itself faces challenges such as the inefficient utilisation of allocated funds, outdated
education system (Agrawal, 2014), lack of synchronisation between industry and education
(Batra, 2009) and inadequate guidance to get the labour force ready for employability.
Therefore, training and skill development need to be integrated with secondary
education, which is vital for improving cognitive ability. Such education will develop
complex skills that are important for problem solving and essential for adjusting to dynamic
changes in the industry (Batra, 2009). It is vital to integrate vocational training with
secondary education, so students can access the required skill sets and assure employability
in case they drop out from educational institutions.
4.6 Labour market reforms for skill development: challenges and solutions
4.6.1 Mismatch between theory and practice. The mismatch between theory and practice
provided through educational institutions is rampant in India (Batra, 2009). From an
academic perspective, the problem can be solved through applying the duality principle,
i.e. an amalgamation of theory and practical knowledge in a single workplace. Germany’s
dual model of vocationalism involves the application of the duality principle in such a way
that apprentices spend a few days in a classroom and the lion’s share of time in the practical
field, which helps reduce the gap between theory and practice. It is evident that Germany’s
dual system of industrial-academic participation is expected to act as a panacea to rectify
the gap between theory and practice (Mehrotra et al., 2015). Inspired by Germany’s dual
system, the National Skill Development Mission is collaborating with industry for skill
development initiatives which are expected to provide desired results.
4.6.2 Low quality of skills assimilated. The quality of skills propagated through educational
institutions in India is low (Agrawal, 2014; Mehrotra et al., 2013). To counter this problem,
National Skill Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and industry standards can be embraced.
Collaboration between educational institutions and industry can help solve concerns regarding
education quality ( Jauhari, 2006). Moreover, there needs to be an emphasis on teacher training,
so they can impart high-quality knowledge to students (Tara and Kumar, 2016).
4.6.3 Mismatch between demand and supply of skilled labour force. Studies by Agrawal
(2016), Agrawal (2014) and Mehrotra et al. (2013) have posited a mismatch between demand and
supply of a skilled labour force. According to survey reports from the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry, 2001, vocational or technical training institutions have
not been able to focus on fulfilling the global needs of industry (Swaminathan, 2008). An absence
of scientific analysis into the skill gap can be considered as the main reason. India’s educational
institutions turn out youth with obsolete skills, and hampering their employability. To address
this situation, NSDC has prepared a skill-gap analysis to determine the demand and supply of
the majority of districts in India. It can be helpful for policy makers, government agencies and
educational institutions to understand the lucrative jobs from the NSDC report and foster youth
accordingtoindustrydemand(Das,2015).
4.6.4 Low level of in-house training compared to other BRICS nations. The major issue of
low level in-house training (Mehrotra et al., 2015) is due to a lack of organisational financial
resources. Hence, the government should provide infrastructure to initiate such measures
for training and skill development. The shortage of financial resources can be mitigated
through joint funding by government and business organisations, corporate social
responsibility (CSR) funding under new provisions of The Companies Act, 2013 (Mehrotra
et al., 2015; Tara and Kumar, 2016), creating a national training fund to mitigate the financial
crunch (Mehrotra and Ghosh, 2014), and encouraging the private-public partnership model
for skill development (Ghosh, 2008; Mehrotra et al., 2013, 2015).
4.6.5 Lack of cooperation/participation due to no incentives for students/employees.The
younger generation’s lack of participation in skill development initiatives (Swaminathan, 2008)
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hasledtothefailureofsuchinitiativesandwastageoftaxpayers’money. India can take
inspiration from the African nation of Kenya, which has attracted youth to its skill development
initiatives through a “voucher system”, a mechanism designed for young participants in skill
development initiatives, wherein participants receive vouchers, which act as a monetary benefit.
There are multiple benefits to this scheme, as it is helpful for the youth in creating interest in
training, which results in eradicating poverty and generating a productive labour force
(Agrawal, 2012).
4.6.6 Lack of qualified trainers/teachers. The absence of adequate formal education for
trainers and teachers is evident in India (Swaminathan, 2008; Batra, 2009; Jauhari and
Manaktola, 2009; Mishra, 2014; Rao, 2015). The government should create a reserve pool of
talented faculty to fill immediate vacancies. Faculty quality should be improved through
regular training (Srivastava and Dhar, 2015), and educators must be encouraged to conduct
cutting-edge research through industrial partnerships. Using open educational resources
can enable lifelong learning among faculties (Das, 2011).
5. Implications
5.1 Implications for academicians/researchers
This study has identified several research gaps which can be addressed through future
research. It has been observed that there is a dearth of studies in areas such as
conceptualisation of skill development and socio-economic benefits of implementing such
initiatives. In this context, future studies need to be conducted to arrive at conclusions based
on scientific evidence, which requires the use of rigorous research methods:
(1) The findings from the study have identified a lack of clarity on the concept of skill
development. It is evident that the term is used to replace the old concept –
vocational education and training (VET). In this regard, future study needs to
document the operational definition of the concept, dimensions associated with the
construct and develop a scale.
(2) The study has hypothesised skill development as an explanatory variable for
technology adoption. In this context, technology adoption models such as the
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) can be integrated
with skill development as a dependent variable to test the empirical relationship
between the constructs.
(3) The successful implementation of Germany’s dual model of vocationalism by
National Skill Development Mission needs to be quantified and empirically tested.
There is a need to examine barriers in implementating such a western concept
in the Indian context. To examine such enablers and barriers, multi-criteria
decision-making techniques can be used.
(4) It is important to understand how corporations’CSR spending plays a role in
improving skill development in society’s younger workforce. According to The
Companies Act, 2013, skill development is a specific area where corporations need to
allocate CSR funds. Studies that establish a causal relationship between CSR
spending and skill development initiatives need to be examined.
(5) The younger generation’s reluctance to participate in skill development is
seen across India and is mainly attributed to their preference for white-collar
jobs. Hence, it is important to understand behavioural factors that prompt the
younger generation to refrain from seeking employment in blue-collar jobs, and
solutions need to be established for changing such mind-sets among the young
labour force.
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(6) Training plays a vital role in developing the skills of an organisation’s labour force.
The research needs to explore the causal relationship between training and skill
development in various jobs especially teachers/trainers and whether it enhances
their job performance.
(7) Few studies have examined whether skill development is supply driven or demand
driven. Some observe that skill development initiatives facilitated by the
government, which are supply driven, have failed to provide benefits to the
public. In this regard, it is urgent to conduct studies on the adverse impact caused by
skill gaps in the labour market.
(8) Employability of the labour force after completing skill development initiatives
showcases the success of such initiatives. The lack of studies that establish an
empirical relationship between skill development and employability need to be
addressed in future research.
(9) The construct of skill development has been viewed at macro-level and meso-level, i.e. it
is considered as a macro-economic variable and an organisational-level variable,
respectively. However, there is a dearth of studies considering the variable at micro-level,
i.e. individual skill development, which can be incorporated in future research.
5.1.1 Implications based on descriptive analysis. Case studies as a research method can be used
to conduct studies on states and union territories of India. Conceptual clarity regarding skill
development is absent and can be mitigated by focusing conceptual studies on skill
development, which may remove ambiguity related to the concept. Further, the definition needs
to incorporate technical education. Even though the Indian economy relies appreciably on
agriculture and allied activities, significance has not been given to this segment, and future
studies can focus on this economic sector. In India, 93 per cent of employment is provided by the
informal sector which follows informal and non-formal training. Hence, these areas need to be
given importance to fulfil the objective of skill development for achieving poverty reduction. As
per the results of the analysis, future research can also focus on collaborative research with
emerging economies like Brazil and South Africa (South American and African continents),
which are a part of BRICS along with India, to adopt best practices from these nations.
5.2 Implications for practice
5.2.1 Implications for policy makers. The study’s findings have posited about the
development of policies which need to be considered by policy makers. According to the
findings, formulating skill development policies is of utmost importance because of its
significance at the macro-level such as mitigate poverty, utilise demographic dividend,
socio-economic empowerment of vulnerable groups, economic growth in knowledge economy
and promotes inclusion and sustainable growth.
In this regard, the policy makers need to formulate the following policies to overcome the
barriers that hinder skill development in the society:
(1) There is an emergent need to initiate steps for establishing skill universities to
facilitate skilling, up-skilling and re-skilling of labour force which attracts the
younger generation to pursue vocation-based education. Such universities would
increase the interest among youth in blue-collar jobs and would help to reduce the
shortage of blue-collar workers in the country.
(2) Skill development is an effective measure to uplift the vulnerable groups especially
women to overcome socio-economic and political barriers. Hence, it is critical to create a
work environment which is women friendly by removing disparity in salary payment,
allocating maternal leaves and changing blockades for promotion of talented women.
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(3) Usage of e-learning resources to bridge skill gaps should be given priority by the
government. Government can integrate courses from e-learning resources as a part
of curriculum in the educational institutions. Such initiatives would overcome the
problem of low quality of skills provided by some educational institutions and the
absence of teachers/trainers to develop skills.
(4) The German model of vocationalism needs to be implemented in the educational
institutions, which is essential to match the difference between theory and practice.
In addition, development of adequate infrastructure for lifelong learning not only in
business organisation but also in educational institutions needs to be given
considerable support.
(5) The government and its allied institutions need to formulate long-term policies to
bridge the gap between theory and practice, in order to enhance the quality of skills,
recruit qualified trainees and teachers, facilitate incentives for students, build
infrastructure to provide in-house training, and eliminate the gap between supply
and demand for a skilled labour force.
5.2.2 Implications for managers/practitioners. The findings of the study have put forward
some implications for managers and practitioners. It suggests that the skill development can
actively results in organisational benefits such as achieving organisational growth,
innovation and entrepreneurial development, enhance self-efficacy by influencing role
behaviour, means of turnaround strategy and job satisfaction. Further, the organisation can
consider implementing skill development initiatives where it can play an influential role in
technology adoption to satisfy the demands of the employees.
In this context, the human resource department has importance to provide skill
development initiatives in the organisation. Regular training programmes ensures higher
level of assimilation of technical and soft skills which creates an impression among the
employees to reciprocate for the organisation’s supportive nature. It is inevitable to develop
the curriculum that addresses the employees’skill gaps to engage them in their job in an
efficient manner and increase employee engagement. Such initiatives will surely enable the
employees to cope with dynamic changes in the business environment. Learning new skills
through experience is the core element of experiential learning theory, and periodical
training through simulation and games can be effective for the employees to achieve desired
results in an organisation. The outcome for such initiatives would be development of new
competencies and attitudinal changes for performing a novel task or job.
6. Conclusion
The current study has carried out a systematic literature review on skill development
research in India to analyse and synthesise the literature and provide insights for future
studies. The objectives of this study are twofold. First, based on the classification
framework, this study carried out a descriptive analysis. In terms of the geographical
context, Pan India studies need to be considered rather than confining the work to one state.
Regarding research methods, the conceptual studies will provide clarity on the concept of
skill development. Studies on skill development of the labour force engaged in agriculture
are vital because this sector provides 15 per cent of the total GDP and 52 per cent of
employment for the Indian population. Studies on informal and non-formal training need to
be considered for future studies, and collaborative research with African and South
American countries will be beneficial for adopting best practices.
Second, this study seeks an answer to the research questions, and the authors
recommend insights to researchers through a future research framework. As India aspires
to be the largest economy in the world by 2040, it is important to instil the necessary skill
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sets in the workforce. The nation has missed opportunities during the past three industrial
revolutions. Therefore, in the era of the fourth industrial revolution and to utilise the
advantage of the demographic dividend, the nation needs to contemplate skill development
initiatives. Moreover, the nation has established numerous institutional arrangements such
as the NSDA and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to provide
necessary infrastructure and foster skill development initiatives. On the other hand, the
nation faces several challenges, such as shortage of skilled trainers and mismatch between
theory and practice, which needs to be rectified through necessary policy formulation by the
government. The government needs to facilitate policies to provide skill development
initiatives because its benefits are manifold for embracing technology adoption and acting
as a means for women’s empowerment.
To conclude, the study conducted a systematic literature review, and the authors provided
implications for academicians and policy makers. This study discussed a lack of conceptual
clarity for the term “skill development”and portrayed challenges and possible solutions from
the available literature. It is hoped that scholars will be encouraged to carry out future
research on skill development in accordance with research gaps as recommended in the study.
Note
1. The five-year plan has been replaced by NITI Aayog since 2014.
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Further reading
Rauth Bhardwaj, B. (2014), “Impact of education and training on performance of women entrepreneurs:
a study in emerging market context”,Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Vol. 6
No. 1, pp. 38-52, doi: 10.1108/JEEE-05-2013-0014.
About the authors
Clement Cabral is Research Scholar in the Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of
Technology, Roorkee, Roorkee, India. He is currently working on his PhD Thesis on the research area
Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour. Clement Cabral is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: clement.cabral@gmail.com
Dr Rajib Lochan Dhar is working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Management studies
at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. His area of expertise lies in research methods, service
quality management, organisational behaviour and international HRM.
For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
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