Swiss initiative to train 1 mn youths in India

"Under the initiative,a firm is being set up to move the project seamlessly," project director said.

After successful completion of a Swiss industry driven pilot project to impart vocational eduction,a new initiative to train one million youths in India by 2022 was unveiled here today.

“Under the new initiative,a separate company is being set up to move the project seamlessly from the pilot to a self-sustainable model,” project director of the Swiss vocational education and training initiative in India G P Chandra Kumar told reporters here.

The new company ‘SkillSonics’ has entered into an agreement with Swiss mechanical and electrical engineering industries (SWISSMEN) and Swiss federal institute for vocational education and training (SFIVET) to take forward the training exercise.

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“Industry participation is critical as companies stand to be the main beneficiaries of the programme by having their factories manned by people trained and certified to Swiss standards,” said Kumar,who was flanked by Swiss Ambassador to India Philippe Welti.

He said that the million-strong trained professionals will also include three lakh skilled workforce for the engineering sector.

The pilot project was launched in 2008 under collaboration between Swiss federal office for professional education and technology (OPET) and Swiss-India chamber of commerce (SICC) in partnership with SWISSMEN and SFIVET in Karnataka and Maharashtra.