Coimbatore : Switzerland and India, which signed an agreement on skill development and vocational education and training, to put joint efforts can for sharing best practices together by creating a roadmap for future collaboration in this regard, said Andreas Baum, Ambassador of Switzerland, here on Thursday.
He was speaking at a conference organized by the Swiss Embassy and the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce jointly with the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore on “Swiss Dual Vocational Education and Training Model”.
Mr. Baum said the aim is to enhance the industry collaboration in vocational education and training. Joint efforts can be taken for sharing best practices, developing curricula, scaling up pilot projects, and fostering contacts between relevant institutions.
The Swiss VET Initiative was launched in India as a pilot project a decade ago and it is now implemented in several Indian and Swiss companies in the country. In Jaipur, the Bharatiya Skills Development Campus was set up by the Joshi Foundation and it has now become a skills university.
The Indian population is young with several millions of youth entering the job market every year. It is a major challenge to provide them with necessary skills to find appropriate employment. The Indian government is aware of this and has set itself ambitious targets to skill the youth, he pointed out.
In Switzerland, vocational education and training constitute an important pillar of education. It is a major reason for Switzerland’s global competitiveness, innovation and thriving economy. Almost two-thirds of young people coming out of compulsory education in Switzerland enrol for vocational education and training, he said.
Vanitha Mohan, president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, said such vocational training efforts will be apt tools to institutionalize skill development.
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