SKILL ORIENTED CERTIFICATION & VALUE-ADDITION COURSES FOR EMPLOYABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY & LIFELONG LEARNING

The end product or fruit of any education is employability- be it Govt. Job, Corporate Sector, Start-up, Business or higher studies. However, the individual’s ability to get employability is largely determined by the conditions of the job market than individual’s capabilities. Today’s Corporate & global world needs individuals who are digitally smart and up skilled. Mere core domain subject knowledge/degree will not help them survive in the competitive environment. Multitalented and multitasking individuals only can manage the multifaceted jobs. Here in lies the dire need for Skill Oriented Certification & Value-addition courses. In line with Skill India Campaign, the present paper emphasizes the need for skill-oriented certification courses which not only create opportunities for employment but also help in achieving sustainable environment and a lifelong learning. The paper discusses the skill-oriented certification courses such as nursery, roof-top gardening, food processing and packaging, organic farming, livestock management, dairying, ice-cream and confectionery making. The students in the field of environmental science and agriculture can do these certification courses in addition to their regular courses. In addition, there are a few certification courses which are common for all streams such as digital marketing, designing and animation, project management and reporting, laboratory management, international trading etc. This paper tries to address issues such as what is the need for Certificate & Value-addition courses? How can we arrange resources and funding for certification courses? How can we design these certification courses? When should we start these value-addition courses?