Demand-Driven Approaches in Vocational Education and Training - A Case Study of Rural Population in South India

Muthuveeran Ramasamy shows that the formal way of vocational education and training (VET) in rural areas often ignores the illiterate, the less educated, and the poor. The author demonstrates that VET programs need to be demand-driven and consider the socio-economic aspects of particular regions. Therefore, the significance of the study at grassroots level helps customize VET programs to respond to the demand of the individuals' vocational training needs of rural people by keeping their endogenous needs at the centre of vocational skill development processes. The findings and lessons learnt from action research are also intensively discussed as guiding principles of demand-driven approaches from the learners'/societal perspectives. 

Muthuveeran Ramasamy holds a doctoral degree from University of Cologne, Germany. He is a development sociologist, currently working as Project Director for a higher education project at VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.