Bridging the Gap Between Higher Education and Credible Employment

Lack of synergy between higher education and industry is an existential crisis that needs to be averted at all cost for the sake our coming generations. The NEP and the path breaking initiatives by the current UGC leadership is setting the tone, there are some practical steps that should help steer us in the right direction. The content heavy nature of curriculum for a wide range of programs wherein disconnect with job roles and career paths is apparent must give way to change. 

The issue is neither specific to any particular type of program domains or industry/sector but rather a broad based systemic problem. A good starting point would be to seek feedback on the candidate profile emerging from various institutions of higher education to confirm the professional relevance and strength of the awards as well as their suitability to join the workforce and potential capacity to develop and grow, carving meaningful career pathways. 

Post the gap identification phase, the below mentioned elements can be a good starting point to commence work on a fix that will enhance the industry relevance and suitability of the awards- 

 Modify Student Recruitment/ Selection Process for Academic Courses/Programmes 

• Industry resource as part of interview/selection panel where relevant 

• Typology of entrance exam- consider restructuring entrance exams to assess aspects that confirm suitability for a career in an industry/profession, rather than validating the obvious; exclude elements already vetted by a pre-existing competitive exam/assessment  

• Effective counseling to better explain expectations of the industry, working hours, career opportunities, growth prospects and challenges 

 Enhance Industry Engagement Models 

• In-class/at-institution learning to be swiftly demonstrated at the relevant  industry shop floor in a ‘on the job’ or ‘internship’ setting 

• Consider multiple internships, can be of shorter durations; the idea is to maximize work exposure enabling talent to be industry ready, consider offering programs in a blended ‘work-study’ mode 

• Encourage faculty to experience the current industry/shop floor setting; will help in ensuring there is no ‘gap’ in what happens on the ground and what is being taught/ articulated in class 

• Industry partners that are willing/ committed to training and development will enable career paths; collaborate with them, encourage practitioners to deliver module/course credits as a part of teaching teams 

 Re-design the Curriculum And Innovate with Delivery Approaches 

• What is needed is a transformational change, not an incremental one, start by questioning all content-whether it is relevant? Will it be actually used in today’s and tomorrow’s job roles? Must evaluate what percentage of curriculum is actually useful 

• Recognize that sourcing information is no longer the challenge; content is largely available for free. What is the value addition that educational institutions are going to add? 

• Leverage our culture and heritage to give it the place it deserves in our program structures and curriculum 

• Consider dynamic/flexible curriculum, one that keeps pace with the changes in the industry and what it needs from fresh recruits; the focus should remain on strengthening the basics 

• Stackable modules that are focused, applied in a work setting and come with certain academic credit is the way forward, the NSDC framework supports this approach through a ‘credit repository’. The achieved credits should be transferable, this allows giving credit where certain learning outcomes are already achieved by a candidate/student, eventually this can give way self-driven learning pathways 

Much needs to be done, what will be needed is a will to recognize the issues, double down on finding solutions and the most important bit- the willingness to walk the talk. 

 

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Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha