Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs met Dr. Martin Ney, German Ambassador to India to discuss further steps on India’s partnership with Germany on the National Skills Agenda.
Dr. Martin Ney met with Shri Rudy to re-energise the engagement between the two countries and update on the outcomes of discussion done by the Joint Working Group which has been created to ensure delivery on commitment made earlier.
The Hon’ble Minister and the Ambassador discussed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last October, which focused on deepening the collaboration between the two countries in the area of skill development and VET and took stock of the progress made in operationalizing the MoU.
The key areas of collaboration under the MoU include: up-gradation and establishment of vocational training institutions, training of trainers, research and development, curriculum development etc. Collaboration in each of these areas has already begun.
Commenting on the partnership, Shri Rudy said, “We in India recognize the fact that Germany has a very high quality vocational education and training system. German VET system is recognized as the best in the world. It provides competitive edge to German industry and businesses. German dual model of apprenticeship training is widely acclaimed. This provides strong linkages of German enterprises to its skilling system.”
“As part of agreement, we will be focusing on the up-gradation of ATIs across the country – 2 being in Bangalore and then one each in Hyderabad, Chennai and West Bengal. These will be through a 3 year cooperation between the Indian ATIs and our German Partners. Additionally, we will focus on the establishment of another ATI on Construction with focus on ‘Energy Efficient Construction’,” said Shri Rudy.
The Minister also asked the partners to focus on re-visiting the curriculum of the ITIs which is developed by NIMI and ensure a more updated course structure aligned to international industry skill standards.
Over the past few months, MSDE has also been negotiating technical cooperation to establish classical model of German dual system of apprenticeship training in three industrial clusters in the country. Locations of these clusters are being finalised.
Commenting on this point the Minister said, “I would earnestly request that work on these clusters should also be taken up without loss of any time now.”
India and Germany will also explore possibilities of financial support for skill development under the German development cooperation assistance (DCA). It was discussed that financial cooperation would be sought for setting up National Institute for Skill Development and Advanced Training Institute on Energy Efficient Construction, creating and strengthening facilities/infrastructure in training institutions and participating industries in the identified clusters for dual mode apprenticeship training.
The previous meetings also had the Government of Gujarat express interest in collaborating with Germany in the area of skill development. This includes establishing a state of the art Multi Skill Training Centre in Gujarat, in collaboration with German Institutions to deliver high quality skills training, across sectors, in accordance with the highest international standards. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) fully endorsed this proposal and requested the German side to support this initiative.