New Dynamic Era of India-Canada Relations

Source: New Delhi Times

Jordan Reeves, Consul General of Canada in Mumbai says that he is upbeat about the rise of Canadian equity investment in India. He further says that Canadian investors are bullish on the Indian economy as is evident from the fact that they have made around $11 billion investment in India in the last year. Canada is also a major collaborator towards the realisation of the skill initiative. In April 2015, during PM Modi’s visit to Canada, education and skills development were identified as priorities. Thirteen MoUs were signed between India’s National Skill Development Council and Canadian colleges and institutes to formalise skills collaboration in various sectors. Modi also agreed to take concrete measures to expand bilateral cooperation in key areas including the economy, trade and investment, civil nuclear cooperation, energy, education and skills development, agriculture, defence and security, science, technology, innovation and space, culture, and people to people tie.

For the full article, visit the New Delhi Times.

India: Leading VET Chain Pairs with MOOC Platform

Source: The PIE News

India’s largest vocational education provider, AISECT, has partnered with online learning platform, ALISON, in a bid to extend its reach in providing skills-based learning to rural and semi-urban populations.

Under the partnership, ALISON and AISECT will provide a free e-learning platform to students offering internationally recognised vocational courses, which will be free of charge and open to all.

AISECT director Abhishek Pandit said the partnership “will allow us to integrate our extensive network and resources with ALISON’s proficiency in open and distance learning to build ‘hands-on’ skills to bridge the demand-supply gap of skilled individuals in the country.”

To read the full article, visit The PIE News.

BC Announces $6M in Funding for Technology Skills Development

Source: BC News Release via Academica

British Columbia announced $6M in funding, to be provided through the BC Innovation Council (BCIC), in support of technology skills development. The BCIC Innovator Skills Initiative and the BC Tech Co-Op Grants Program will provide students with opportunities to enhance their skills and explore new career opportunities at small- and medium-sized technology firms, while connecting employers to a supply of talented workers. BC Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Shirley Bond said, “this new funding will continue to help drive this development by training entrepreneurs today and generating desirable jobs for highly skilled, creative, and educated British Columbians for the future.”

Canadian Colleges Take on India Skills Development

Source: The PIE News

Canadian educators have partnered with the National Skill Development Corporation of India to undertake part of the mammoth task of upskilling India’s youth population. With the NSDC responsible for training 150 million young people by 2022, this month it has signed 13 memoranda of understanding.

The MoUs, 12 of which with Canadian colleges as well as an umbrella MoU with Colleges and Institutes Canada, will facilitate collaborations for skill development in a variety of different sectors, including water, aviation and hydrocarbon.

The agreements were endorsed by both Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s visit to Canada last week, the first in 42 years.

In 2009, under the National Policy on Skill Development in India, a target to train 500 million people before 2022 was set and the NSDC has been charged with training 150 million.

Cynthia Murphy, director of the Canadian Immigrant Integration Programme at Colleges and Institutes Canada, told The PIE News that with the looming deadline, development under these MoUs is moving very quickly.

“We all know of MoUs that are signed that don’t have a lot of activity – that’s not happening with this group,” she said.

“The NSDC is incredibly motivated and keen to get work happening under these MoUs. Each institution set its own goals within its own sector, but the time frame is of the essence.”

According to CIC figures, last year Canadian colleges and institutes hosted more than 8,000 Indian students– more than the number at universities, language schools, primary and secondary schools combined.

Education in general was one of the key areas that both Prime Ministers agreed to prioritise for bilateral engagement.

Canada also listed India as one of the priority countries to work with in its international education strategy last year.

Modi’s visit followed trips to Germany and France where he signed a two-year residence permit for Indian graduates with French president Francois Holland.

Murphy said that while on this trip Modi connected with the diaspora, but also with business and industry.

“It’s very much about building partnerships in several key sectors, and education being one of them,” she said. “It’s on the government’s agenda, it’s one of the priorities listed, and it is incredibly important to both countries.”

Despite the initial momentum of the collaborations, Husain Neemuchwala, CEO of the Canada-India Education Council said Modi has a lot to prove in the face of India’s upskilling needs.

“The government has only been in power for the past ten months or so,” he commented. “I think there’s tremendous scope and lots to demonstrate the intent as well as the ability to get things accomplished.”

He added: “I think there’s a lot to undertake at this point to demonstrate that they are able and capable and they mean what they say.”

Indo-Canadian MoUs to Help Skilling in Apparel Sector

Source: Fibre2Fashion

India and Canada have signed two different memorandum of understanding (MoUs) for skill development in the apparel sector, the apex apparel exporters body, Apparel Export Promotion Council, (AEPC) said in a statement today.

The agreements were signed during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Canada.

Dr A Sakthivel, Chairman Apparel, Made-Ups & Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMH SSC) signed an MoU with Bruce Wilson, President, Fanshawe College, Canada for transfer of expertise in the field of Training of Trainers and other fields.

The MoU envisages greater cooperation between the Canadian partner and AMH SSC, whereby, Fanshawe College will share their expertise in the training of trainers and other fields in the skilling process.

This will result in availability of larger number of Quality Master Trainers which in turn, will ensure quality training in skilling in the apparel sector.

Dr Sakthivel also signed another MoU with Husain F Neemuchwala of the Canada India Education Council (CIEC) to access expertise in the field of skilling in the apparel sector.

Canadian Colleges to Partner with India on Skills Development

Source: Globe & Mail via Academica

A group of Canadian PSE institutions is planning to sign MOUs this week with India’s National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 12 institutions, including 9 colleges, will work with Indian partners in specific sectors to create and improve training opportunities for Indian youth. The Indian partners will pay the colleges for services including curriculum development, training for Indian educators, and help with accreditation systems. NSDC, a large public-private partnership that aims to develop for-profit vocational institutions, has established centres of excellence across India that will house the partnerships.

Saab’s education initiative to increase employment opportunities

Source: The Hindu Business Line via PwC – EdLive

Saab India announced an employability enhancement and skill development programme for the Indian College Engineering students. Termed the ‘Diploma Employment Enhancement Program (DEEP)’, it is designed to bridge the gap between industry’s requirements and technical education. The first pilot classes in collaboration with the Indian Technical Institutes will start in December. Saab India, the Indian subsidiary of the Swedish-headquartered defence and security company, has initiated a skills training programme at institutes in Gudivada and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. The six-month programme is designed to help engineering students learn and hone the right mix of technical and soft skills while they are still in college.