Singapore ITE sets up centres in India
Singapore’s ITE Education Services (ITEES), which offers consultancy and training services in skills development and vocational training to more than 25 countries, has been requested by the Indian Government to help them set up vocational skill centres as part of the “Skill India” programme across the country.
ITEES, a consultancy arm of the state-owned Institute of Technical Education (ITE), is already working on other projects in India, the first of which is slated to commence training from September 27, 2016 in Rajasthan, marking the World Tourism Day.
“We note the strong interest of the Indian Government to engage ITEES for consultancy services in enhancing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)across India and this was further emphasized during Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to the ITE College Central last month,” said Lim Boon Tiong, director Asia Group at ITEES.
“We believe ITEES can contribute to “Skill India” programme, by playing a catalytic role in helping to set up a few model institutions in selected locations in India.
“These model institutions will allow for knowledge and technology transfer and eventually be replicated in other parts of India with ITEES continuing to play supportive role to ensure quality and international standards,” he said.
Goyal, India’s Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy, was briefed on ITE and ITEES programmes during his visit to Singapore on May 23, 2016. His delegation has held follow on meeting with ITEES.
For a start, the Indian Government has requested ITEES to conduct an onsite analysis of skilled manpower requirement for a few selected industry sectors with the aim to help set up 2 model Skills Centre in Delhi and Varanasi, said ITEES.
The training programmes to be offered in these centres will be tailored to the needs of local industries and for training both urban and village youths, it said.
A similar approach was taken in preparing an extensive programme for a Centre of Excellence Tourism Training (CETT) in Udaipur under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by ITEES and the Rajasthan state government in 2014, Lim explained.
ITEES will train the trainers for Udaipur CETT, which will be launched by the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on September 27, 2016, making the World Tourism Day.
The trained trainers will then deliver the training programmes at CETT, mostly designed for training manpower for the state’s tourism sector, the institute said.
ITEES has also signed a similar MoU with Madhya Pradesh during Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visit to Singapore in January this year, ground work for which is being done for another CETT-type campus.
In another project, ITEES’ consultancy is in the midst of completing ground work for the development of a TVET campus in Kolkata under another MoU with businessman K K Bangur.
This will be a private-sector-operated campus to offer skills training under a corporate social responsibility initiative by the private sector.
“We have started working on these projects in various stages and hopes to contribute to the development of Indian skilled manpower,” said Lim.
Established in 2003, ITEES is Singapore’s response for helping its partners build skilled manpower globally, especially in developing economies.
Today, ITEES is the global partner of choice for governments, institutions and private enterprises seeking to develop, enhance or re-design their TVET capability.
Through these partnerships, ITEES has helped its partners raise their labour productivity, increase employability of their youths and adults, and enhance their economic and business competitiveness. fii-news.com
