India is relatively young as a nation with around 28 million youth population being added every year. More than 50 per cent of its population is below the age of 25 and more than 65 per cent are aged below 35. In 2020, the average age of an Indian will be expectedly 29 years, while it will be 37 for China and 48 for Japan. As President Pranab Mukherjee said in a CII event in Kolkata, “We often boast about India’s demographic dividend. But the question that arises is what we do with this if we cannot skill them, if we cannot educate them and cannot enhance their employability.”
About 90 percent of employment opportunities require vocational skills. Only 20 per cent of our graduates get employed. The rest are unable to get suitable employment due to the lack of employable skills. In the present context of globalisation, the demand for skilled and multi skilled workers has increased. Therefore in the context of developing countries, such as India, there is a critical need for quality skill development and training. Integration of Skill Development & Education is essential for skilling to take ‘Wings’.
To make India the skill capital of the world, the mind set & awareness levels will have to go through a dynamic change. That is where ‘Wings For My Dreams’ come into play.
We firmly believe that skill development should ideally begin at the age of 14 years, from the ninth standard, while in school, AFTER a proper Psychometric Test to gauge the aptitude of the young student and then channel his energies & education, through career counselling, towards the fields where he / she is likely to excel.
We also believe that Core Employability Skills, Vocational Education, Job Oriented Skilling & Corporate Fitment are more important than normal college degrees because, unfortunately, the Indian education system puts maximum emphasis on bookish knowledge. Hence, when an individual graduates, he/she struggles to apply this knowledge in the real life scenario & struggles to get / retain employment.