Ranjan K Baruah
Many of us are interested in working in the development sector. Apart from building our career in the field of social work or rural development we can also think of a career in cooperatives to build a better world. We should be aware that more than 12% of humanity is part of any of the 3 million cooperatives in the world; the largest 300 cooperatives and mutuals report a total turnover of 2,034.98 billion USD according to World Cooperative Monitor 2020. It also tells us that cooperatives employ 280 million people across the globe (10% of the world’s employed population).
A cooperative is defined in the Statement on the Cooperative Identity as “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.” The best part is that cooperatives are people-centred enterprises owned, controlled and run by and for their members to realise their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations and it brings people together in a democratic and equal way.
The International Cooperative Alliance unites, represents and serves cooperatives worldwide. Founded in 1895, it is one of the oldest non-governmental organizations and one of the largest ones measured by the number of people represented. The earliest record of a co-operative comes from Scotland on March 14, 1761. In 1844 a group of 28 artisans working in the cotton mills in north of England established the first modern co-operative business.
On July 2, cooperatives all around the world will celebrate the 100th International Day of Cooperatives (#CoopsDay). A decade on from the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives, which showcased the unique contribution of cooperatives to making the world a better place, this year’s #CoopsDay slogan — “Cooperatives Build a Better World”— echoes the theme of the International Year.
National Council for Cooperative Training is a registered autonomous society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 promoted by the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India. The Council is responsible for organizing, directing, monitoring and evaluating the arrangements for cooperative training for the personnel working in the cooperative sector in the country. The main objective of the Council is to organize need based training programmes and facilitate the process of human resource development for cooperatives for the country. It also envisages conducting research in critical areas of cooperative movement.
The Council has established its own training structure comprising of the VAMNICOM, Pune at National Level, Five Regional Institutes of Cooperative Management at Chandigarh, Bangalore, Kalyani, Gandhinagar, Patna and 14 Institutes of Cooperative Management located at Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Dehradun, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur, Kannur, Lucknow, Madurai, Nagpur, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram.
There are courses like BBA and MBA focusing on cooperative management which can be opted by aspirants who want to work in the field of cooperatives. Apart from degree and post graduate courses there are also short term training programmes offered by different reputed institutions. Assam Rajiv Gandhi University of Cooperative Management also offers different courses.
Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICOM) is conceived as an intellectual nerve centre for the Cooperative Movement. VAMNICOM, a National Institute under the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India, is responsible for organizing, directing, monitoring and evaluating the arrangements for cooperative training of the personnel working in the cooperative sector in the country.
(Ranjan K Baruah is a career mentor and skill trainer and can be reached at 8473943734 or bkranjan@gmail.com)