In
this era of globalisation with fast evolving markets and technologies,
concerted and continuous efforts have to be made for protecting and
enhancing income earning opportunities for women , specially in view of their
many vulnerabilities. An important strategy in this direction is imparting new
skills and transforming/upgrading existing skills through appropriate
vocational education/training programmes. Vocational training being a
concurrent subject, responsibilities are shared by both central and state
governments. One of the Regional
Vocational Training Institutes (RVTI) for women (under Govt. of India's
Directorate General of Employment and Training) is located in Kolkata,
conducting basic and advanced courses in secretarial practice, dress making,
fruit and vegetable preservation, architectural draughtsmanship, console
operation etc. The Technical Education and Training Department of GOWB lays emphasis on 'women-friendly' vocational courses under its
Short Term Vocational Training (STVT) programme and the Community Polytechnic
scheme, about one-third of the total trainees being women. The courses are
described as skill-based (such as embroidery and garment design, tailoring ,
silk screen painting etc.), knowledge-based(such as secretarial practice,
business assisstantship etc.), computer-based (such as DeskTop Publishing etc.)
or technology-based (such as training as physiotherapist, laboratory technician
etc.)[i] The Crafsmanship Training scheme was introduced by the Govt. more than 50 years
ago to ensure a steady flow of skilled personnel for participating in various
sectors of industry. It is implemented through the countrywide network of
Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) . There are now 29 ITIs
in West Bengal, four being exclusively for women, located in Kolkata,
Bardhaman, Siliguri and Banipur (in North 24 Parganas
district). The intake for most trades taught in an ITI is rather modest,
usually only 16 trainees per
course. Women trainees in ITIs rose from 422 in 2001 to 489 in 2002-03, while in
the Polytechnics, it was 630 and 635 respectively. [ii] About 20 per cent of the
total intake of 6500 in the Polytechnics are available to women candidates.[iii]A
comparative perspective regarding vocational education/trainingfor women is
provided in Table E 10, showing statewise seats
in Women's ITIs and Women's Wings in general ITIs. It can be seen that the total
number of women's ITIs and Women's Wings general ITIs in West Bengal rose from 4 in 1995 to 11 in 2003, total seats allocated for women rising
from 448 to 720 - much behind all other states except Bihar.