The 3rd meeting of a Joint Steering Committee (JSC) set up to oversee progress of India-UK collaboration in the area of Skill Development, Vocational Education and Training was organized as virtual meeting on September 22, 2020.
The meeting was chaired by Ms. Juthika Patankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Mr. Gavin McGillivray, Minister Counsellor Development, British High Commission, New Delhi. The committee has representation from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Directorate General of Trainings (DGT), NITI Aayog, on the Indian side. From the UK, the Committee has representatives from Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the British Council Division.
UK and India have been working together to strengthen Indian skills ecosystem by bringing in international best practices in the areas of curriculum development, training of trainers and assessors, focus on inclusion especially women and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), across different sectors and regions.
FCDO and British Council highlighted key skilling interventions carried out in the last few months. Examples include working with MSDE on policy issues such as assessment and apprenticeships; knowledge sharing webinars with UK experts; undertaking analytical studies to help with evidence building capacity building of trainers and partnerships with state governments of Punjab and West Bengal. An update of the seven skills partnership projects being implemented under UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) was also provided.
The JSC meeting discussed priorities for next six months which included training in the Health Sector, new courses on Electric Vehicle s, e-course content for training of people with disabilities, The JSC recommended working on strategies to adapt and align existing skilling interventions to maximize impact and focus on skills needs in the challenging times of the pandemic, Co-chairs expressed satisfaction at the wide range of initiatives and emphasized the need to integrate and align them for maximum impact.
