Indian Education Congress 2011, India’s biggest forum for the Business of Education was recently organized in the city which witnessed various eduprenuers, educationists & experts from the education industry.

Ms. Sonia Nagpal, Founder & CEO, i360 Staffing & Training Solutions Pvt. Ltd. who was also the part of the event says “Since the opening of the economy in the early 1990s and the subsequent evolution of India into a knowledge based economy, the demand for higher levels of specific skills has been constantly increasing. Availability of skilled manpower is a critical success factor for driving the services sector, which in turn fuels the development of a knowledge economy. To become a superpower in the true sense, India needs to have a huge base of skilled manpower. This is essential to match the ever growing demand of modern industries where services predominate over agriculture or manufacturing. It is in this context that vocational education and training assume greater significance.”

Nowadays there is a boom of various retail, call centre industries etc which require basic & skill education which make them a better & suitable employee for them.

It is estimated that 90 million jobs will be created over the next five years, of which almost half (45 million) are expected in the services sector. Of these, an estimated 7-10 million are expected to be created in hospitality, healthcare, and modern retail alone. Of these new jobs, more than half would require some form of vocational training & education.

The Government, too, has realized the potential of vocational education and training. The Central Government has launched a mission on vocational education and skills development. It plans to set up more than 1,500 new ITIs and polytechnics, 10,000 new vocational schools and 50,000 new skill development centres across the country. Various private players have also entered into the education market increasing the scope & growth of the vocational education.

“The government's education expenditure as a percentage of GDP is about five per cent and the consumption trends predict that the urban Indian is spending nine per cent of his wallet on education while the rural consumer spends only six per cent. Government is taking lot of efforts for Vocational Education & Training through initiatives like NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) at central level & other various State Level initiatives”, concludes Sonia.