Education & Skills Sector Reading List, February 2018

EMPLOYABILITY

In good news for graduates, a recent survey has shown both that the employability of Indian graduates is rising, and that more companies are showing higher hiring intent in 2018. Read more in Live Mint here.

It’s not all about tech skills – Google has found that non-cognitive skills (and not STEM skills!) are the most important when it comes to the success of its employees. Read more in the Washington Post here.

Learning with your Learners

Over the years as a facilitator, I’ve discovered that learners have different characteristics, different learning capabilities, different reaction times, different attitudes, values, interests, motivations and personalities.  I need to be aware of these differences and adjust my pedagogy and learning environment accordingly.

The Innovation Revolution

I am a devout believer in the power of innovation. Innovation has the power to completely shift existing realities both in incremental ways and on immense scales. I strongly believe that one of the most important areas to be harnessing the power of innovation is in our education systems. Our educational systems are simply not built to support the current state of our world. Lack of access to education or using antiquated models means that we are not preparing students to flourish in our rapidly changing world. We are individually and as a planet facing overwhelming issues threatening our very existence, and I believe that the foundation of addressing these issues is through education.

Digging Deeper: Budget Implications for India’s Youth

Quest Alliance’s Ashutosh Tosaria, who manages the 45-member MyQuest team helping youth across India learn employability skills for career development, shares his thoughts on the 2018 Budget with Manish Sharma, in this Q&A piece.

Campfire, Community and Common Purpose

I can’t recall a better start to the year than 2018.

On December 20, my mentor Bezwada Wilson walked into the room and asked me to book the tickets for the fortnightly long workshop of the Democracy Fellowship by the School For Democracy, an initiative of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS). Over the course of three years, it brings together 52 grassroots activists from 17 states. We fellows engage with the state and work to influence systemic change and struggle for rights and entitlements.

Education & Skills Sector Reading List, January 2018

EMPLOYABILITY

It is about time that India rethinks its attitude towards education and realises that professional qualifications without skills will only further widen the employability gap. Read more in the Financial Express here. 

Misinterpreted data led to claims of India generating 55-lakh jobs every year. Read more in The Hindu here. 

Predictions suggest that the Union Budget will prioritise the skill development ecosystem. Read more in The Hindu here. 

Grit and Determination plus Digital Literacy? A Recipe for Success

By 2020, India will become the world’s youngest country in terms of its population. When the certainty of this ‘demographic dividend’ became clear, it was seen as a huge opportunity by economists, academics, think tanks and social scientists, a problem of plenty. As the sheer size of the issue became clearer, and as more data on youth entered the public domain, employers, civil society and the government soon joined the conversation. Over the past decade, this one issue has become arguably one of the most emotive of issues in several Indian policy circles.