Question 1: Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:
Training to become a respiratory therapist, a fire-safety technician, a floral designer, a locksmith, a forensic science assistant, or a wedding planner, in most western countries happens in a vocational institute or community college. In Germany and some other central European countries, they have formal dual education system where training at a vocational school (Berufsschule in Germany) is combined with apprenticeship at the company or guild. In US, a network of career institutes and community colleges, both traditional and online, give a wide variety of career and technical education options. The Association for Career and Technical Education is the largest national association in the US dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for careers. Successful vocational training systems abroad have three common elements – they are adaptive to changing needs of the economy, they are collaborative and they offer credible (and portable) certification. This portability is geographical and also among certificates, diplomas and degrees.
In India, government Industrial Training Institutes and state technical institutes dominate the vocational training system. There are over 1,800 ITIs in India. There are also eleven technical training institutes for women. World Bank has allocated $359 million for upgrading some institutes to centres of excellence. Plan was to take place under the public-private-partnership model. It has seen implementation delays and has largely been the failure as critical decision-making elements, like staffing and course fees, have been retained by the government. Periodic reviews of this programme available in public domain are voluminous documents with lots of tables and numbers whihc suggest only modest improvement.
The objective of the vocational system is clear. It is jobs. On that score and on others, the whole chain of post-secondary vocational and career training to apprenticeship and employment is broken in India. Existing institutes do not embody either adaptability or collaboration – imperative for success in a fast evolving economy. Even if they are successfully upgraded they do not offer capacity necessary for the size of the economy. The full present capacity for public and private vocational training centres is less than the million seats. This is less than the fifth of India’s desired annual capacity.
Modern India requires to change its failed post-independence model to attain that goal. Tinkering would not do the trick. A brand new architecture for our vocational training system is required. Governments – both state and Union – must focus on skill standards and certification portability. For the rest, vocational training must be fully privatized.
This private ecosystem requires to be organized under the governance umbrella (made up of educators, government and business) which becomes instrument for standards, evolution, collaboration, certification and portability.
National Skill Development Corporation, that has made a good start on retraining the workforce, must be retained. It adds the dimension to this framework. Apprenticeship regulation (Apprenticeship Act 1961) must be relaxed and rigid conditions eliminated so long as minimum wages are paid. To provide for wider access, online and distance career education must be encouraged when standards are met through credible testing.
“Start by doing what’s necessary, and then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible,” said Saint Francis of Assisi.
a) How is an European system of vocational education different from American?
b) What are three elements of successful vocational training in the West? Discuss in your own words.
c) Why is the Indian vocational education system failing according to the writer? Discuss.
d) According to writer what are some of the steps the government could take to improve the vocational training system in India?
e) What title will you give the passage? Give explanation.
f) Give meaning of the words ‘adaptability’ and ‘collaboration’.
Question 2: Alok Gupta works for the Nadars. Complete description of his work. Use Present Simple or Present Continuous form of the verbs in brackets.
Alok Gupta (i)…………………(work) in the Public Relations department. Every day he (ii)………………(spend) a lot of time with foreign journalists. They often (iii)…………… (phone) him and (iv)……………….(ask) for an appointment. He (v)………….. (speak) to three reporters from Britain at the moment. He (vi)……………… (give) them information about Nadars for their magazines. He (vii)…………….. (enjoy) his job very much because he (viii)……………. (meet) a lot of interesting people and every day is different. Today, for example, Alok (ix)…………………. (organize) a visit for a group of French people. They (x)………..… (make) a film for their TV channel. They (xi)……………….. (film) the Nadars’ at the Gallery of Modern Indian Art, at the moment. The newspaper and TV people often (xii)…………… (want) news stories on Nadars and it is Alok’s job to help them.
Question 3:
Complete the conversation given below.
Roohi: Good news about your new job, Tony.
Tony: Yes. ……………………………………………………… .
Roohi: What about the money?
Tony: …………………………………… . So I sent in a letter of application along with my curriculum vitae. Three weeks later they said I was on their short list of six candidates for a job. They asked me to go for an ……………………………………………………… .
Roohi: What about?
Tony: Well, first they checked my ………………… – age, family, education, and that sort of thing. Then they asked about my …………….. .
Roohi: Did they offer you job immediately?
Tony: …………………….
Roohi: So, what exactly is your new ……………………..?
Tony: Assistant Sales Manager.
Roohi: ………………… . Do you get any nice fringe benefits with job?
Tony: ……………………………………………………………………… .
Roohi: That’s wonderful.
Tony: ……………………………………………………………… .
Question 4:
Locate the ad or a job description for a post you will like to have. Write the cover letter as well as your curriculum vitae. Copy the ad in the answer.
Question 5:
The sentences given below are in a passive voice. Write them in a active voice.
i I was allowed by the court to file the appeal
ii He was awarded by a company president.
iii Two hundred people are employed by factory.
iv He was given the very high salary by a new company.
v The photographs were taken by the leading photographer in London.
vi He has been seen by police in the restaurant.
vii My car was hit on the back.
viii We were shown beautiful paintings.
ix He was taught by one of the leading physicists.
x I was handed in the letter yesterday.
Question 6
Write brief notes on the following:
i Barriers to communication.
ii Language and style of Minutes of Meeting.
iii How to be successful in a Group Discussion.
iv Body language when making a presentation.
Question 7:
You are an editor of the college magazine. You will like to request District Collector for the interview. Telephone the District Collector’s office and speak to her secretary, Ms. Sushma Reddy. You should do the following:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe why you have called
• Ask when you could get an appointment with Collector.