In India, private vocational colleges grow

India hopes to establish 10,000 community colleges?by 2030?to train 500 million young people in job skills. University of Mumbai delegates?recently visited?Hawaii Community College.

Private vocational training is taking off in India, reports the New York Times.

Ghaziabad, India ? In a simple classroom above a storefront on a bustling street, four young men crowded around the colorful innards of an open computer hard drive while their teacher explained in Hindi how it all worked.

The computer repair course was among 25 offerings at Gras Academy, a private institution with 58 skills training centers across India, including this one in Ghaziabad, a city on the outskirts of New Delhi.

. . . Inderjeet Singh, 19, is a first-year student at a government college; but attendance there is not mandatory, giving him time to attend Gras?s computer repair class. His college tuition is about 5,000 rupees, or less than $90, per year, but he is willing to pay 22,000 rupees for the six-month Gras course. He thinks it will be worth it, because 70 percent to 75 percent of Gras?s graduates find jobs immediately, according to the academy.

Kanchan Sharma, 17, is studying accounting in a government college, but her correspondence course doesn?t teach the software most Indian companies use. So she?s also taking a six-month accounting course at Gras.??Here, classes are smaller and the quality of teachers is good,? she said of Gras. ?Plus, what we are being taught is practical and linked to industry.?

Nearly 70 percent of Indian employers say they can?t find enough skilled workers. That?s especially true in telecommunications and retail, which are expanding rapidly.

Government vocational institutes are known for poor quality and outdated curricula.

Gras Academy has developed its own textbooks, manuals, training system and on-campus job placement services.

Teachers undergo 40 hours of training and must pass a test. There is also an incentive program: They get financial rewards if 70 percent of their students land jobs, plus extra recognition if 85 percent do.

Gram Tarang, another private training company, works with employers to place graduates. ??We are currently swamped by demands from industry for semiskilled and skilled workers,? says Abhinav Madan, managing director.

Source: http://communitycollegespotlight.org/content/in-india-private-vocational-colleges-grow_13613/

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