Vocational trainers are an integral part of the entire skilling ecosystem. And their efforts behind the scene must be acknowledged and appreciated to strengthen the evolving, skilling and vocational education ecosystem in India. Since trainers and teachers are the pillars in imparting holistic education, we need to bring a lot of visibility to their achievements and help them grow in their careers.
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5 ways to appreciate vocational teachers and vocational trainers
1. Acknowledge their achievements – We need to make vocational education aspirational as a career by the social stigma that is attached to it. Also, recognising their hard work and celebrating their achievements should be our first step towards appreciating them.
2. Showing a career path – It’s not just recognising but we also need to show them a suitable career path. A job at school level or college level could help them grow in their career. Providing research opportunities to sustain their passion could help them get the best out of their profession.
3. Compensation – It is important to pay good salaries as per the organisation term. According to their academic achievement, giving financial incentives is much needed.
4. Industry connection – Vocational training should be connected with the industry partners. There is academia-industry connection in the curriculum these days but we even need to send teachers to connect with the industry. Finding a way to get them connected with the industry to build a long-term relationship is the need of the hour. Also, there should always be a scope for continuous learning for the trainers.
5. Build professional communities – We need to facilitate the bonding of vocational trainers from various places and build a community where they can talk and discuss about their work and issues of their job. In most cases, they handle multiple roles, so there should be a common platform for them to discuss all their challenges.
Also read: Vocational Trainers – The Building Blocks of Skilled India https://www.nationalskillsnetwork.in/vocational-trainers-skilled-india/
Hence, above are a few points through which vocational teachers and trainers can be appreciated for their contribution to the evolving ecosystem. They help us in making skilling aspirational. In NEP 2022, there is so much emphasis on vocational education from school level. So, we need to encourage and recognise many more teachers and trainers who love the profession which will in turn strengthen the skill development and vocational education ecosystem in India.
