Indian Economy News

India and Singapore agree to create opportunities for lifelong learning, building a future-ready workforce, and making knowledge & skill development a key pillar of strategic partnership

Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, is in Singapore for three days to deepen relations and explore the possibility of expanding bilateral cooperation on education and skill development. Mr. Pradhan met various key Ministers of Singaporean Government and visited Spectra Secondary School.

Mr. Pradhan had a constructive meeting with Mr. Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Finance, Singapore, on strengthening the existing cooperation between India and Singapore with focus on deepening engagements in skill development. During the meeting it was agreed to work together, aiming to create opportunities for lifelong learning, building a future-ready workforce, and making knowledge & skill development a key pillar of strategic partnership.

During the meeting, Mr. Pradhan said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, the Indian Government launched the National Education Policy (NEP) in 2020. NEP 2020 is specifically focussing on providing early exposure to vocational education in middle schools, ensuring that market relevance of training as well as building capacity of our institutions to provide technical and vocational education. He further informed the Government is also working towards integrating skills qualifications framework with higher education qualification framework and investing in developing short-term and long-term training programs to provide skilling, re-skilling and upskilling opportunities. The Minister stressed on learning from the best practices of Singapore, collaborate and customise it to meet Indian needs.

Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan had an insightful discussion with Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Gan Kim Yong. The Ministers had fruitful conversations on strengthening skill development and vocational training linkages through all mechanisms for creating a seamless architecture for skilling and lifelong learning. Building on the outcomes of the G20 Future of Work workshop in Bhubaneswar, they also discussed ways in which India can leverage the expertise and knowledge of Singapore for addressing common challenges and transforming the Indian skills ecosystem.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.