Promoting Skills Among Indians Staying Abroad

The fact that India is a young nation with 65% of its population below the age of 35 years, presents an opportunity that can be leveraged to create a high-quality skilled workforce not only for the country but also for the rest of the world, especially in those nations which have an ageing or less or declining national population.

As it is, in March this year, the Indian government launched ‘TEJAS’ (Training for Emirates Jobs And Skills), with an aim to create a skilled Indian workforce in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In the initial phase, ‘TEJAS’ aims to create a 10,000-strong skilled Indian workforce for the UAE, the fifth-largest economy in the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) region.

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) – the Indian government owns 49% of its shares – has signed MoUs with top employers in UAE like EFS, AIQU, Esa Saleh Al Gurg, Future Milez, Lulu Exchange and Dulsco to support the upskilling scheme.

The skills that will be imparted under the ongoing scheme cover higher-order jobs (ex: Full Stack Engineering) as well as lower-order jobs (ex: plumbing) across job sectors, according to a PIB communique.

“Our focus is to provide the world with a large skilled workforce from India. ‘TEJAS’ will provide high-quality skills as per global standards,” Union Minister Anurag Thakur said during the launch at the Dubai Expo while reiterating PM Modi’s vision of a strong partnership between India and UAE.

To put things in context, UAE, historically a popular destination for Indian job seekers, was the No 1 country for Indian job seekers, according to the 2016-2021 data from the Bureau of Immigration data. Other Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman followed UAE in the list.

Notably, the IISC (India International Skill Centre) network, under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, had been endorsing projects similar to ‘Skill India International Project’. It aims at providing employment opportunities to the youth abroad by skilling youth and signing Memorandum of Understanding /Memorandum of Cooperation with various countries such as Germany, Japan, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Belarus, United Kingdom and France.

Incidentally, the government has decided last fortnight (May 17) to set up a Skill India International Centre set up at Varanasi to prepare a skilled workforce for mobility to the UAE.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was exchanged between NSDC International (NSDCI) and the Indian unit of DP World, Hindustan Ports Private Limited to develop a Skill India International Centre at Varanasi and to skill Indian youth for pursuing overseas employment opportunities in logistics, port operations and allied areas. Skill India International Centre at Varanasi will impart skilling as per international standards, preparing the candidates for global markets.

The MoU was exchanged between Shri Ved Mani Tiwari, Director, NSDC International and Mohammed Al Muallem, Executive Vice President, DP World and Director, HPPL in the presence of Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education & Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; Shri Rajeev Chandrasekar, Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship & SMEs, UAE; Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, MSDE; Shri Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador of India to UAE and Rizwan Soomar, CEO and Managing Director, DP World subcontinent.

The MoU signing was preceded by bilateral discussions chaired by Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship & SMEs, UAE.They explored ways to further invigorate bilateral engagements in skill development & entrepreneurship and to take the India-UAE CEPA to unprecedented heights. The two sides agreed to develop and strengthen a comprehensive institutional framework for engaging all relevant stakeholders to scale up skills-based cooperation, including in up-skilling of workforce, training of trainers, facilitating exchange programmes and apprenticeship engagement. Recognition of certificates issued by Indian Skilling Centres in UAE and renewal of G-to-G mechanism between Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, GOI & National Qualifications Authority, UAE were also discussed for liberalising the process of assessment and certification of Indian workforce and to ensure greater mobility for them.

Skill India International Centres are aimed at providing high-quality training to Indian youth. The centres will host training facilities, providing skills as per the demand of international employers in countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada, Australia and other GCC regions. The Skill India International Centres will also have a wide network of partnering organisations and overseas recruiters to facilitate supply of skilled and certified workforce in other countries. These partnering organisations will work with NSDCI for aggregating demand from overseas markets. The centres will have services such as mobilisation, counselling, skill training, pre-departure orientation, foreign language training, placement and immigration and post-placement support.

It may be noted that NSDC International Ltd. is a subsidiary of National Skill Development Corporation that is driving the Skill India International Mission of making India the Skill Capital of the World. The vision is to transform India as a preferred partner country for sourcing skilled and certified workforce across the globe. Its objective is to create an internationally benchmarked quality skills ecosystem and cements its position as a global supplier for quality talent. It offers global job opportunities for resident Indians and global career mobility for overseas Indians.

Hindustan Ports Private Limited is part of DP World, a leading provider of worldwide smart end-to-end supply chain logistics, enabling the flow of trade across the globe. Its comprehensive range of products and services covers every link of the integrated supply chain – from maritime and inland terminals to marine services, rail network and economic zones as well as technology-driven customer solutions. Wherever DP World operates, it integrates sustainability and responsible corporate citizenship into its activities, striving for a positive contribution to the economies and communities.