As a follow up of Indian Prime Minister Modi's visit to Hannover, Germany and his dialogue with Chancellor Merkel on the agenda of skill development, a workshop was held highlighting the German dual system of apprenticeship training. The workshop organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), supported by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, was held on 25 June 2015, in New Delhi.
Indian and German experts from the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, the private sector, the German Chamber of Commerce, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), and the German Federal Ministry of Education & Research participated in this workshop.
Three focused breakout sessions were conducted by German experts to facilitate better understanding of the dual system of vocational education and how it can be applied to Indian context.
At the gathering, Sunil Arora, Secretary at the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, mentioned that the workshop will best help understand how the dual system can be applied at industrial clusters to help address the skill manpower demands of the Indian Industry. Robust framework of apprenticeship training will directly create a higher productive workforce with better quality output in India.
The "Apprenticeship Act" of 1961 has been amended to address the immediate concerns within the skill eco-system, making it more responsive to the Industry and the youth. He mentioned the key features of the amendments, such as:
- Number of apprentices at establishment level instead of trade-wise;
- engagement of apprentices in optional trades which are not designated;
- inclusion of non-engineering occupations;
- outsourcing of basic training to another institute;
- submission of returns and
- other information through online portal.
He further mentioned that making skill development is a national priority, 15 July will be celebrated as 'World Youth Skills Day', where major announcements on skills will be made by the Prime Minister of India.
Arjun Uppal, Member, CII National Committee on Skill Development, Vice President - Corporate Affairs, DCM Shriram Ltd mentioned that to address the low employability in the youth, there is a need to focus on soft skill education. He also added that making skills aspirations will drive the agenda forward.
Hannes Barske, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education & Research, Germany stated that the German dual model is a demand and quality driven model that is finding its need in various emerging markets around the world. The robustness of the dual model of Germany ensured the stability of the country's economy during the financial crisis of 2010.
According to the CII release the workshop saw focused deliberations and concluded with strong outcomes, which will be initiated by the industrial clusters.