Recognition of prior learning
It’s time to give credit to existing skills of workers, writes GS SETHI

Approximately 93% of country’s workforce is in the unorganized sector. The sector cuts across all economic activities and includes rural and urban areas. It contributes to about 60% of the country’s GDP. Strengthening the skill base of the unorganized sector will improve productivity, working conditions, labour rights, social security and living standards. Separate institutional mechanism will be explored which will interalia plan, implement and monitor the skill development efforts for the unorganized sector”. This is an extract from India’s Vocational Training Policy of 2009. It underlines the importance of unorganised sector and its contribution and potential in nation building.

Looking around the skill development policies of a few countries, here is an example of another Asian country’s policy developed by ILO.

• The NSDC will specifically develop a strategy to engage with the informal economy and improve the level of skills utilised in this important sector of the economy.
  
• Many citizens acquire skills and knowledge through work and other life experiences without access to formal education or training. In order to recognise the skills and knowledge acquired and provide enhanced pathways into further education and training, a system for the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) will be introduced.
  
• In the informal economy, the cost of participating in training is a significant barrier. Consequently the government and its partners will explore innovative ways of addressing the cost burden, including the use of micro-credit linked to business advice and the formal recognition of master trainers and accredited training workshops.

Learning through working does help in imbibing skills, and needs to be recognised, certified and appropriately rewarded. Although it has received wide acceptance as a concept and has come to be commonly known as Recognition of prior Learning (RPL), yet implementation models are hard to find. The concept, no doubt finds place in some of the important international documents, as for example:

• System of recognition of prior learning will be available to the workers in the informal economy enabling the workers and employers to move into the formal economy (ILO Recommendation 195, 2005).
  
• Skill Development (SD) policy will aim at validating non-formal and informal learning which is seen as a way to help groups with particular needs (such as migrants, early school leavers and people returning to labour market) to progress to further education or training or find jobs. (CEDEFOP 2010).
  
• People working in small enterprises and in self-employment, including those in rural areas and in the informal economy will have access to skills development and ‘second chance’ education programmes to ensure their social inclusion (A G 20); SD programmes will include training in entrepreneurship and elementary information and communication technology enabling workers to take responsibility for production, marketing, competent management and the rational organisation of the enterprise (UNESCO 2001).

In 2008, DGET launched the skill development initiative (SDI) scheme, of which one of the objectives is – “To provide vocational training to school leavers, existing workers, ITI graduates, etc. to improve their employability by optimally utilizing the infrastructure available in Government, private institutions and the industry. Existing skills of the persons can also be tested and certified under the scheme”. It is the latter part of this objective, which takes note of the fact that even existing workers possess ample skills, which need to be tested and certified. In this regard the available information for one year (2011-12 as on February 13, 2012) shows that 29,490 existing workers took the assessment test, of which only 9,388 came out successful. This is by all means a very insignificant number and in no way reflects the actual situation of the number of skilled workers employed but not equipped with recognised certificates. This could be due to various reasons like ignorance about the opportunity for testing available, absence of direct benefit after testing and certification, lack of motivation, industry’s fear of more demands likely to be made on the employers by certified workers or chances of certified workers leaving for greener pastures etc. But such a situation and attitude does not augur well for the progress of the economy and well-being of the working class. It also shows that while objectives have been well set in the vocational training policy but strategy to achieve the objective has not been framed in adequate details. It is high time to do so because SDI scheme is going to be one of the important planks for skilling people in huge numbers, the national target being 500 million skilled people by 2022. As per a recent report emanating from DGET, funds to the extent of Rs 700 crore have been allocated by the Planning Commission for 2012-13. In view of this direct testing and certifying existing workers should perhaps receive a renewed thrust.

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