India and Singapore to sign pact for skilling Indians in aviation

SINGAPORE: India and Singapore will sign an agreement for skilling Indian youths in the aviation sector at the Aero India Show next week. Academies will be set up in Bengaluru and other places in India that will act as regional hubs for the training of Indian youths for domestic and overseas jobs in these sectors.

National Skill Development Corporation of India's (NSDC) Aerospace and Aviation Sector Skill Council in collaboration with Singapore Polytechnic and a Singapore-based private sector firm will signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on February 22 to establish skill development centers.

Aero India show 2019 will be held in Bengaluru from February 20-24. It will provide a significant platform in bolstering business opportunities in International aviation sector.

These 'Centers of Excellence in Advance Skilling' will provide training and certification drawing from Singapore curriculum and standards in sectors such as aerospace and aviation, emerging technologies, automotive and logistics. "These are all priority sectors under 'Skill India' and 'Make in India' programmes, which require large workforce with advanced technical skills," India's High Commissioner in Singapore Jawed Ashraf said here on Friday.

He said that these sectors also provide more productive and remunerative employment opportunities. Singapore is a leader in aviation services including maintenance, repair, overhaul services as well as skill development across various sectors, Ashraf said.

This is one of the many collaborations between India and Singapore in the crucial skill development sector following the signing of two MoUs between NSDC and Singapore Polytechnic to establish state-of-the-art Trainer and Assessor Academies across India. "Skills development is one of the new areas that have gained prominence in the bilateral engagement with many countries, but especially with Singapore, not only at central but also at state level," the envoy said.

There are several institutional engagements including plans for setting up the first Indian Institute of Skills in Mumbai in collaboration with Singapore's Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES); training programmes for state government officials in public administration and governance; urban planning, logistics and infrastructure development in collaboration with many Singapore-based institutions, including Institute of Technical Education, Singapore Cooperation Enterprise and Civil Service College. "Singapore has also opened three internationally acclaimed Skill Centers in India (New Delhi, Udaipur and Guwahati) and more coming up," Ashraf said.

The World Class Skill Centre (WCSC) in New Delhi has seen hundreds of students clearing the courses in the areas of Hospitality and Retail Sectors with 100 per cent employment rate. There are plans to move WCSC to a new site and further expand it, he said.

Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam and Odisha are also working with ITEES and Polytechnics in Singapore to develop skill centres. Odisha conducted training of 100 officials from ITI in Singapore last year. "The close ties between India and Singapore have a history rooted in strong commercial, cultural and people-to-people links, reinforced by convergent strategic interests," Ashraf said.

The relationship, elevated to a Strategic Partnership in November 2015, has gained a new momentum and direction in last three years, he said. "The initiatives in skill development taken during Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's visit in 2018 are now showing results," Ashraf added.