India and United States join hands on technical vocational education and skill
training
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) & US India Business Council (USIBC)
strengthen bilateral relationship to skill the youth
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Shri Sunil Arora, Secretary, Department of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship graced the occasion
with his august presence
The two countries will establish a platform to enable corporate entities from the United States of
America to set up and/or support skill development centers in India
These centers are expected to scale-up to a capacity of skilling around 10,000 persons per year
New Delhi, November 21, 2014: In another major step to strengthen the US - India bilateral relationship in the
area of technical vocational education and skill training, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC),
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US India Business Council (USIBC), the premier U.S.
business advocacy organization representing America’s top companies investing in India. The MoU was for
valuing the ongoing international cooperation and policy dialogue in technical vocational education and skill
training between the two nations.
The MoU was signed by Mr. Dilip Chenoy, MD & CEO, NSDC and Ms. Diane Farrell, President (Acting), USIBC.
Under the MoU, India and the US will recognize the building of a skilled and productive global workforce in
India, which is of international quality and regional interest; share a common interest in developing
transnational standards to strengthen skills mobility and facilitate greater access to skilled labour across the
region. Both parties will also support broader cooperation and mutual assistance in technical vocational
education and skill training in their respective countries.
Congratulating NSDC and USIBC, Shri Sunil Arora, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship said, "This is an action that has come as an outcome of a very broad dialogue at the highest
level between the honourable Prime Minister of India and the honourable President of the USA. We hope that
this MoU becomes meaningful, fruitful, and really enhances and deepens the cooperation between the
respective businesses of our skilling efforts.”
“I would like to congratulate NSDC for leading this effort, as this is yet another step to harness the potential of
our demographic dividend, which is a mammoth task in itself,” he further added.
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Dilip Chenoy, NSDC said “In line with our Prime Minister’s vision of a
Skilled India, this is another step to give a major boost to India’s skilling ecosystem and create transnational
standards, for which we are honored to partner with USIBC. We are certain that this will be a fruitful and
successful partnership.”
Commenting on the partnership, Ms. Diane Farrell, USIBC said, “This is a great opportunity for both India and
US to collaborate on skill development. Through our individual experiences, the two countries will be able to
exchange international best practices on standards in technical vocational training which will benefit the youth
at large as India looks create 100 million jobs over the next 10 years.“
Under the MoU, NSDC and USIBC will establish a platform to enable Corporate Entities from the United States
of America to set up and/or support skill development centers in India. These centers may focus on the
specified sectors including, but not limited to, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Tourism, Hospitality, Automotive,
Electronics, Heavy Equipment Manufacturing, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Aviation, Banking,
Financial Services, and Institutions (BFSI), Information Technology/Information Technology Enabled Service
(IT/ITES), Agriculture, Defense, and Infrastructure. These centers are expected to scale to reach a capacity of
around 10,000 persons per year.
Some others areas of cooperation are as follows:
 Exchange of information and policy ideas on areas of mutual interest including:
Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems in both countries
Competency standards development, assessment and certification
Industry participation in TVET policy development, training delivery, assessment and certification,
and formal work-based training such as apprenticeships
 Joint implementation of collaborative projects, including in the areas of:
Benchmarking occupational standards and qualifications in priority industry sectors mutually agreed
upon by both parties
Capability building of TVET trainers and assessors
Progressing towards mutual recognition of skill certifications
Promoting transnational standards to third countries in the region
 Facilitating links between governments, industry organizations, industries and TVET peak bodies in both
countries, including in the form of:
Promoting networks to share successful models;
Interaction through meetings, conferences and symposia;
Exchange of staff through short-term placements in relevant government agencies or industry
organizations and only for purposes of and in furtherance of the general objectives of this MoU
About USIBC
Formed in 1975 at the request of the U.S. and Indian governments, the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) is the premier
business advocacy organization advancing U.S.-India commercial ties. Today, USIBC is the largest bilateral trade
association in the United States, with liaison presence in New York, Silicon Valley, and New Delhi, comprised of 310 of the
top-tier U.S. and Indian companies. The Chairman of USIBC is Ajay Banga, President and CEO, MasterCard.
About NSDC
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a unique Public Private Partnership (PPP), with 51 per cent equity held
by private sector and the balance 49 per cent by the Union Government. Formed in 2010, NSDC is a professionally run
not-for-profit company that includes 31 Sector Skill Councils and over 154 training partners with over 2500+ training
centers spread across 444 districts in the country. NSDC is mandated to skill 150 million Indians by 2022.
For more information on NSDC kindly visit our website, and Facebook page:
www.nsdcindia.org
https://www.facebook.com/NSDCIndiaOfficial
www.twitter.com/NSDCIndia
For Further information please contact:
Garima Misra/ Vikram Mahajan / Niren Yadav
9910106993 / 9810225845 / 8800447367
garima.misra@ogilvy.com, vikram.mahajan@ogilvy.com, niren.yadav@ogilvy.com