Skill Gap Scenario for Uttarakhand :

Based on  estimates the State of Uttarakhand will have an incremental human resource requirement of approximately 2.06 million in next 10 years. The requirement in the year 2012 is 3.8 million which will increase to 4.64 million in 2017 and ultimately reaching to 5.89 million in 2022. Analysis shows that over a period of five years (2012-2017), the incremental human resource requirement would be 835,287. Similarly the incremental human resource requirement from 2012 to 2022 would be 2,061,143. Model suggests that the total requirement for human resource in 2022 will be 5,868,322.

Human Resource requirement in Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary sector :

The Primary sector (agriculture & allied including forestry, fishery, logging, horticulture and animal husbandry and mining) will continue to lead in terms of total human resource requirement. The sector’s share in total manpower demand will however decline from 57.3 percent in 2012 to 50.2 percent in 2017 and 42.6 percent in 2022. The share of secondary and tertiary sector in total manpower requirement shows an upward trend. Human resource requirement in secondary sector is expected to increase from current level of 17 percent to 20 percent in 2017 and 23.5 percent in 2022. The corresponding figures for the tertiary sectors will be 25.9 percent, 29.8 percent and 33.9 percent respectively.

Skill level wise break up for growth sector :

Agriculture and Allied Sector :

Despite poor economic returns, non-remunerative nature of work and in adequate backward and forward linkages, agriculture will continue to absorb maximum human resources in the State in next 10 years (2012-22). The sector employs 2.14 million workers (56.2 percent of total human resource demand) in 2012. The incremental demand between 2012-2017 and 2012-22 will be 0.14 and 0.30 million respectively. Total human resource required in agriculture and allied sector in 2022 is 2.44 million. The demand for manpower in agriculture and allied services such as logging, forestry, horticulture, animal husbandry and fishery is quite uniform across all hill Districts.

Floriculture :

 Training required for cultivation of flowers in poly house and net houses.  Farmers sell their flower produce to middlemen at very low rates due to lack of market knowledge. There is a scope for enhancing the marketing skills through trainings to farmers since they have limited marketing skills and market knowledge.

Animal Husbandry  :

• There is shortage of trained qualified youth in the veterinary services such as Para-vets. Trained manpower would be required that have knowledge on animal reproduction, disease control and value addition in dairy products.
• Sheep rearers use traditional techniques of extracting raw wool which impedes the quality and quantity of the wool. There is a skill gap needed to be fulfilled by providing training on the modern techniques of wool shearing and processing.

Manufacturing sector  :

The manufacturing sector has witnessed a rapid growth in the State during the last decade due to favorable industrial and tax policy and setting up of the SIDCUL that has been playing a pioneering role in promoting industrial activities in the State. In comparison to other Indian States, Uttarakhand tops the chart by registering 30 percent annual growth in manufacturing amounting to 21 percent of the State GDP in 2009-10 34 . As per our analysis manufacturing will remain a focused sector in terms of the requirement of skilled manpower in the next ten years. This is however based on the assumption that the current tax and other regulatory industrial packages will continue to be provided by the State Government.

Automobile and auto parts :

•  There is shortage of skilled manpower in most of the industries. Skill like fitters, electricians, turners, motor mechanic would be in demand in future.
•  Skill development and upgradtion in automobile repair is required. Currently, the students lack practical exposure and end up doing low paid job in garage and workshops.
•  Industry representatives shared that there is a need to upgrade existing courses, course material, curriculum and structure of courses, with more focus on practical experience than theoretical knowledge.

Tourism, Hospitality and retail :

 The tourism sector has been a major constituent of the service sector that already contributes almost half (49.6 percent) of the Gross State Domestic Product. Given the factor endowments, there is huge potential for growth in the tourism sector considering the demand from both the domestic and international markets in terms of content and standard of facilities and utilities. The State attracts tourists for pilgrimages, cultural tourism, nature tourism, adventure tourism, wildlife tourism, eco-tourism, and amusement and leisure tourism. The approach to tourism development in Uttarakhand has to be based on the strengths of this State. Since Uttarakhand is rich in natural beauty with a unique mountain environment as well as rich historical and cultural assets, diverse products have to be designed for various categories of people who travel to this State for different motives.

Soft skills and personality development :

There are very limited avenues for English speaking and Personality Development. There is shortage of manpower can communicate effectively in English.

Education Sector :

Uttarakhand is home to some of the India’s best institutes of higher learning including the GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, IIT, Roorkee, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, Uttarakhand Technical University etc. The State is also known for its private boarding schools and other institutions of excellence. The coverage of education infrastructure and overall literacy level is comparable to some of the better performing States of India. The presence of high literacy levels as well as quality educational institutes makes Uttarakhand suitable for the location of sunrise industries such as biotechnology and IT.

Given the factor endowments and assuming that the growth in education and vocational/technical training will be sustained in next 5-10 years, our analysis suggests that the State will require roughly 0.46 million manpower (all under the skilled categories) in the year 2022 or an incremental demand of 0.26 million in next 10 years. The demand for manpower under education sector will include Principals (Doctorate / Post Graduation with more than 15 years of experience), Head of Departments (Doctorate / Post Graduates /Graduates / Diploma holders with relevant experience of more than 10 years), teachers, professors, lecturers, training officers, placement officers and administrative staffs (Doctorate / Post Graduates / Graduates/ Diploma holders with relevant experience for 0-5 years). With the enactment of Right to Education there will be significant increase in demand for teachers in schools and therefore colleges for teacher training. In addition there will be a demand for faculty especially in institutes for skill development.

Government  Initiatives :

1. Strengthening the Institutional Mechanism : In order to consolidate its existing State level activities and approach the issue of skill development in a consolidated and comprehensive manner, the Government has formed a society called Uttarakhand Skill Development Society (‘USDS’).

2. Programme Design: Skill development should be seen in conjunction with school education and livelihood promotion. Although the strategies required to strengthen these areas would be different but these are part of the same continuum, therefore need to work in close coordination with each other.

3. Oversight & monitoring mechanisms:  Identify the information needed at various levels within the society and accordingly design· the Management Information System to capture and consolidate the information. The quality of available data has scope for improvement. It will help in evidence based planning.

4. Research : Identify some key sectors/trades/issues that have a potential for creating opportunities or pose challenge in implementing the skill development agenda in a comprehensive manner.

5. Giving a boost to the local economy in hilly region : Interactions with various stakeholders revealed that that people in the hilly region largely depend on the plains and other States for small requirements of daily living. Several such examples were given of local people having to purchase fodder for animals, confectionery items like bread, biscuits from the plains. Whenever the weather is bad connectivity the supply of goods is affected. It will go a long way if the existing schemes are used to provide training is areas like confectionery, hospitality to run dhabas hygienically, toiletries, packaging material etc. which help them in their daily lives.