What will it take for India Inc to have a well-skilled workforce? Here’s what the experts say:

Short courses: You can do better with short-term courses that last only a few months rather than multi-year programmes. For one, training fees will be lower and trainees can start earning quickly. You can do this by breaking a long course into chunks, says Gayathri Vasudevan, CEO of LabourNet, a training provider.

Train the local workforce: Go to where your talent is and provide training as this is more sustainable. For instance, Rural Shores, a BPO, has set up centres in smaller towns such as Vellore to train and attract local talent. This has helped the company beat the BPO bugbear of high worker attrition and boast of 97.5 per cent retention. Those who leave do so only for personal reasons, such as marriage, says S Balaji, a manager at the 212-strong centre.

Job linkage: You have to connect your trainees with the job, which is a big issue now. For example, a large company in Perambalur, near Chennai, wanted to hire 1,000 factory workers, but could not find technically qualified people. On the other hand, qualified candidates remain unaware of such job opportunities. Arulselvan, COO, Nettur Technical Training Foundation, says closing this loop is critical.

Successful models: Armed with these ingredients for success, a few recipes have emerged. One is the ‘learn and earn’ programme in which students enter a multi-year programme that involves classroom sessions along with work experience at a company. The cost of training is borne by the company and the trainees are also paid a stipend. R Purnima who is in such as programme run by Real Talents Engineering, near Chennai, says that applying what she learns to ‘real’ events such as writing a report on a machine breakdown has been “satisfying”.

Apprenticeships: Here, students do industry work as a part of getting a formal degree. While this is done effectively in many countries, it is very weak in India — only 200,000 are enrolled currently, less than a fifth of the 1.1 million in Japan, according to a report by TeamLease. The apprehension shared by industry regulators that apprentices may be exploited as cheap or unpaid labour is one reason for the low uptake, says MSA Kumar, CII Chairman.

With the yawning skill gap at the entry level, companies, such as those in the health care sector, are willing to pay a stipend and add resources to train students. And providers such as Employability Bridge and TeamLease are helping establish stronger training linkages between institutions and the industry.

Customised training: Another popular alternative, especially for companies that do not require multi-year training or many new hires, is to opt for custom-made courses from training providers. Many institutes tailor their curriculum to the needs of a particular industry, such as in telecom (e.g. maintaining a mobile tower), banking (managing an ATM).

Companies that need more entry-level talent offer the course themselves. For example, S Akhila enrolled in a free two-month-long power tools sales training at Bosch. After technical and language lessons, she is now a ‘confident’ sales associate.

On-site training: Allowing the institute to offer on-site training, especially when classroom teaching is secondary to practical skills, works well. For example, in the construction industry, masons and other workers are taught at building sites. This has helped Raja Naik, who works at a site near Bangalore, to be trained in masonry and plastering, with the company’s approval and help from LabourNet. After a month of hands-on learning, Naik is now proud to be in charge of a ₹4-lakh project.

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