Where There's a Skill, There's a Way: Sanjeev Duggal, CEO & Director, Centum Learning, a skilling company with presence in 21 countries, writes on how to change India's skills landscape

• Published in: Business today (New Delhi, India) India), 2016-01
• Main Author: Duggal, Sanjeev
• Format: Magazinearticle
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0974-3650

When she got married, Rajni Bala's dreams were similar to those of most young women of her background - having a contented married life with a loving husband and children. Reality, however, turned out to be very different. She had to live with her in-laws, who proved tyrannical, while her husband was a drunk, who hardly provided for her two children. She finally left, along with the children, returning to stay with her widowed mother. She is still locked in a legal tussle with her husband and in-laws. But with hardly any education, what would she do for a living? She heard about a learning/training centre in her area and enrolled in it for a 12-day intensive course in retail operations. She has since been hired as a cashier at a branch of a leading global retail store. She proudly points to a badge she wears next to her ID card. "I won it for my performance," she says. "I have been able to establish myself and support my two children, because of this opportunity I got."Hailing from a small village in Morigaon district of Assam, Amar Jyoti joined a 45-day skilling course to get some kind of employment. His trainers at the centre were so impressed by his zeal that, on completion of the course, they offered him a trainer's job at the centre itself. After two years, he is now a senior trainer in charge of two centres. "I'm proud to be able to bring about the same change in other people's lives that the skilling centre did in mine," he says. "I'm proud to have lifted several BPL families out of poverty by imparting skills to their members." Jagir Kaur, a daughter of poor parents, felt guilty when she failed to get a job after clearing her Class XII board exams. The fact that her elder brother, in her family of six, was also unemployed, made matters worse. Finally, she left her village for a nearby town where she underwent a skilling course in looking after wholesale stores, which soon landed her a job. Jagir smiles often, a smile of pride. "I'm the first girl in my family to have moved out of home and become self-reliant," she says. "I manage my expenses and support my family, too." The glass, half-empty or half-full - depending on one's perception - is the best metaphor to describe the skilling scenario in India. Much has been done, but much remains to be done. Less than two per cent of our workforce has formal skills. The glass, half-empty or half-full - depending on one's perception - is the best metaphor to describe the skilling scenario in India. Much has