PA/38/13 29 November 2013
Largest Ever Australian Skills Delegation to India
A delegation of over 100 experts from Australia’s skills sector has arrived in India to explore how they can partner to meet this country’s burgeoning demand for skills development.
The Australia Skills Mission to India includes representation from Australia’s government owned Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions, private skills training providers, industry peak bodies, Industry Skills Councils, and Commonwealth and State/Territory governments.
Minister of Human Resource Development Pallam Raju praised the work Australia and India have done to boost cooperation in the skills sector.
“We support this partnership and I hope it will continue to expand in scope, scale and speed, and build co-operation that will transform the lives of millions of young people,” Dr. Raju said.
“Skills development is a central pillar of our strategic partnership with India” said Australia’s Acting High Commissioner to India Bernard Philip.
“India needs to train up to 500 million people by 2022, and is projected to add 12 to 15 million workers to its labour force every year over the coming decades. Quality training delivery and standards will be essential and Australia is well positioned to provide this expertise”, said Mr Philip.
The mission has been a contributor for the 2nd India Australia Skills Conference 2013: Training and Industry – Bridging the Skills Divide hosted today by the National Skills Development Corporation, Confederation of Indian Industry, Ministry of Human Resource Development and All India Council for Technical Education. The Conference is an initiative of the Australia India Education Council.
New skills partnership agreements were signed between:
• TAFE South Australia, Heraud Education Trust and Amity University
• TAFE NSW Hunter Institute and Bhullar Education Services (XLT Jaypee)
• SkillsTech Australia, AVTEG and India’s Plumbing Sector Skills Council
• Heraud Education Trust, Amity University and India’s Automotive Skill Development Council
• Australia’s Construction and Property Industry Skill Council and AVTEG
• Southbank Institute of TAFE and Sannam S4 for their new office in Delhi.
Many of the other Australian delegates also explored establishing skill development partnerships with their counterparts in India.
“I am confident that our work with Australia under the Australia India Education Council is contributing to novel skills partnerships that will help India leverage its favourable demographics for achieving faster and more inclusive growth” said Dilip Chenoy, MD & CEO, National Skill Development Corporation.
Conference participants also had the opportunity to discover quality skills development models already operating in India with Australian partners. These were also highlighted earlier in the week at the 2nd Australia India Sector Skill Council – Industry Skills Council Workshop, with over 100 representatives sharing best practice industry and training standards. The Australian Government has funded Australia’s Industry Skill Council engagement with India’s new Sector Skills Councils in the areas of telecommunication, agriculture, retail, mining and media/entertainment, which has led to the development of new occupational and industry standards.
“Australia and India share a common goal to build a skilled workforce to lift the productivity of the nation,” said Philip Bullock, Chair of the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency.
“It makes sense that we work together on this – to share our ideas, adopt best practice approaches and build partnerships for quality skills training delivery that meets the needs of industry in an increasingly globalised and mobile world.”