Education: An investment worth making

India's need for an enormous skilled work force that can drive its growth story forward is now a well accepted fact. But developing and honing these skills is where the real challenge lies.

The first-ever Education Investment Conclave 2013 in London in early October, backed by India Inc, explored just some of the complex issues linked with meeting the country's educational demands and where its special relationship with the UK, and the world at large, fits into the scenario.

“This is the world's opportunity to take part in an unimaginable economic growth story and we are keen to take some of our employability skills work to India,” said Julie Mercer, head of education at Deloitte -one of the key driving forces behind the conclave.

India is poised for its much-talked-about demographic dividend to kick in, which roughly translates into a requirement of around 200 million graduates and 500 million skilled people by 2022 -by which time nearly 25 per cent of the global work force will come out of the country.

“These figures are phenomenal and mind boggling and it is everyone's responsibility to get involved in the process. India is a land of opportunity where there is no dearth of talent. But there is a gap between vision and implementation. The solution is a triangular approach which brings together academia, industry and education funders at every level,” said Asha Khemka, principal of West Nottinghamshire College -one of Britain's leading further education colleges with a strong focus on vocational skills development.

“The Association of Colleges in India, a group 33 UK colleges that have joined forces to work with Indian partners to ensure we plug the skills gap by training the trainers and setting a quality assurance framework in place, has already been launched this year. West Nottinghamshire College is also on the lookout for an investor to set up its own base in India as well,” she added, in reference to the UK's growing participation in the Indian education sector.

And that was the key focus of the conclave -to build partnerships with investors interested in India and education. Indian post-compulsory education businesses looking to expand and grow, European partners exploring joint ventures in India, and policy-makers with an interest in the challenges posed by the next frontier in the Indian education market are some of the other areas covered as part of a range of panel discussions involving industry and academic experts.

“India's education system is decades behind what we need as an industry. It is important that the system is geared towards teaching how to learn to learn, rather than just learn some stuff,” explained Sudhakar Ram, CEO of Mastek -a multinational information technology services firm.

Click here to view photos of Education Investment Conclave 2013

Click here to read the quotes from India Education Investment Conclave Participants