From September 20 to 26, 2010, New Delhi and Mumbai hosted the iMOVE delegation.
Six German companies from the vocational education and training sector gained incredible insight into India‘s vocational education and training market during this trip.
A balanced program for the delegation afforded first-time visitors as well as those who had visited India previously, great starting points for cooperation with Indian partners.
Briefings by the Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy gave the German guests a deeper understanding of a country, like few others in the world, which is characterised by such extremes. On the one hand, India stands for horrific economic growth numbers and on the other, millions of Indians live in utter poverty.
The embassy representative presented a very vivid portrayal of an intercultural meeting with Indian partners.
During the first visit to an Indian vocational training institution, the delegation gained insight into the challenges the seventh largest country in the world is facing when it comes to reforming and modernising a vocational education and training system.
The NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) presented itself as a single point of contact for concrete cooperation in 21 industry sectors in the form of PPP-models (Public Private Partnership). Once again, it became clear, just how much India values the German system of vocational education and training, particularly industry-related training on a contractual basis, the permeability of vocational development paths and the high quality of industrial production.
Visits to Indian companies and other educational institutions illustrated that the dearth of qualified skilled labour can only be met through individual company initiatives. More and more, large Indian companies are developing their own training concepts, as governmental training centres can no longer meet the demands of companies. Companies are aware of job market oriented training "made in Germany".
The meeting of the iMOVE delegation with a German business delegation lead by Federal Minister Rainer Brϋderle in New Delhi was important strategically.
The topic "vocational training" was a major component of many talks during the German-Indian Commission for industrial and economic cooperation. The conclusion drawn from many discussions is that stronger interweaving of industrial and educational exports creates a clear competitive edge for Germany in foreign economics.
The network concept was at the foreground during the visit to the education market Worlddidac in Mumbai.
At the trade fair, the iMOVE-delegation met German companies in the German exhibition booth under the direction of the didacta-association, as well as exhibitors from many other countries. The evening reception at the trade show provided an optimum opportunity for the delegation to share and exchange ideas about market entry opportunities and barriers, as well as potential consortium ideas.
The next event focusing on India followed on the heels of this highly interesting and successful trade mission:
On October 7, 2010, just a few days later, the delegation had the opportunity to attend iMOVE-India Day in Berlin. While the Indian delegation was visiting Germany, many German attendees were able to expand and strengthen their newly established network.
