India aims to train 500,000 emigrants by end 2022: MEA Secretary

New Delhi [India], December 9 : India has an ambitious target of training 500,000 emigrants by the end of 2022 and expanding it to hard sector-specific skills, Sanjay Bhattacharyya, secretary (CPV & OIA) said on Wednesday.
Bhattacharyya was addressing a virtual conference at the 9th Global Summit on Skill Development on the theme "The Future of Work-Creating Globally Competitive Skilled Workforce" organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
"We have an ambitious target of training 500,000 emigrants by the end of 2022 and to expand it to hard sector-specific skills. The training programmes are organised in collaboration with the National Skill Development Council, State Governments and Chambers of Commerce and Industry, including CII. We also organise training of trainers workshops for imparting soft skills to our people who are going to work in the GCC countries," Bhattacharyya said at a virtual meeting.
"We are interacting with stakeholders, mainly through our think tank, the India Centre for Migration, in collaboration with NSDC, foreign and State Governments, business, academics, migration-related organizations and the migrants themselves. Our discussions suggest skilling and employability are linked. Current market and global trends suggest that migration flows to traditional and new destinations or countries and diverse economic sectors will continue. Data-based analysis can provide inputs for skill development and migration policy formulation. This will provide opportunities for our youth," Bhattacharyya said.
India will also contribute to the development of the Gulf. Indians are the preferred option for leadership in the region, Bhattacharyya said.
Revealing an OECD study MEA Secretary said, that the 120 million migrants living in OECD countries, 30-35% were highly educated migrants, with academic and vocational training. India was ranked at the top with more than 3 million highly educated Indians in the OECD countries, which is reflective of the skilled and trained workforce that India possesses.
"The signing of India-EU Declaration of Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility in 2016 affirmed the shared objectives of better organising and promoting regular migration at all levels, maximising the development impact of migration and mobility for mutual benefit. We are also working to provide enabling frameworks through Migration and Mobility Partnerships. While the agreement has been concluded with France, agreements with Portugal, Germany, Benelux, UK and Japan (outside EU) are in the pipeline. Several other countries are also interested in such agreements. Combined with Social Security Agreements, they provide a favourable and mutually beneficial framework for mobility of skills and talents," Bhattacharyya said at a meeting.
The MEA Secretary said India stands ready to improve the presence of highly skilled workers and professionals through mutually beneficial arrangements with Europe, the USA and Japan. India is well-positioned geo-economically and geopolitically to create and provide a globally skilled workforce.
"The Director-General of Training has introduced a National Skills Qualification Framework that is compliant with new-age courses. These include data analysis, mechatronics, smart agriculture, cloud computing, process automation, artificial intelligence, human-machine interaction, block-chain, etc. Expanding new-age courses in the skilling centres will not only address the local demand for a skilled workforce but also increase the footprints of Indian workers in international markets," he said.
Speaking on the issue of Industry 4.0 the MEA Secretary said, "Industry 4.0 is an opportunity to remove barriers to access, create equal opportunity hiring practices and feminise male-dominated manufacturing industries. With appropriate reskilling, automation is a large net positive outlook and can propel people currently at the edges such as women, rural youth and those living with disabilities into the forefront of an employable workforce."
Skill development is a strategic and instrumental part of future economic growth. It is recognized that skilling, upskilling and reskilling are not an endeavour undertaken in a vacuous setting. A worker's skill set consists of cognitive, soft, and job-specific skills, which are shaped in a conducive environment. In aspiring to realize the potential of skills development, we face common challenges, Bhattacharyya added.