By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Bangalore : Britain is set to offer vocational training to Indians for creating a large skill-based workforce required to meet the demands of a booming economy, says High Commissioner Richard Stagg.
He said the offer would figure during the upcoming visit of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to India Jan 21-23 for the fourth India-UK Summit in New Delhi.
“We are willing to provide expertise in the vocational sector to develop a skilled workforce for potential jobs in the subcontinent. Our development corporation is ready to collaborate with the Indian government for building the human capital required to sustain the eight-nine percent GDP growth in this country,” Stagg told IANS in an interview here.
With demand outstripping supply due to a shortage of skilled workers in manufacturing, services and construction, India’s central and state governments have embarked upon imparting vocational skills to thousands of students not opting for higher education or professional courses and unemployed youth.
“In the run-up to the forthcoming summit, we are in discussions with the Indian government on the modalities to provide course materials and the requisite machinery to strengthen the infrastructure of existing and new industrial training institutes (ITIs) in the country,” Stagg noted.
As part of bilateral ties, the summit will also focus on deepening collaboration in education, research, health and the knowledge sector to leverage the resources and talent available in both the countries.
“The UK-India Education and Research Initiative, launched in early 2006 with $50 million upfront investment, will be extended to more areas for joint projects in biotechnology, nano-technology, life sciences and stem cell research,” Stagg said.
“Greater participation by the academic and scientific communities in both the countries will minimise the role of bureaucracy in decision-making and funding.
“We want scientists and technocrats to take the lead as the British academia has been doing in higher education. British institutes have great appetite to work with the research (PhD) community in India.”
The heads of British universities (Oxford and Cambridge) and reputed colleges such as Imperial have come calling here in recent months to convince Indian students on the advantages and benefits of studying in Britain rather than in the US or other Western countries.
“Though the higher education sector has not been opened to allow overseas academic institutions to operate in India, many British colleges and varsities are keen on partnering with their Indian counterparts for offering their domain expertise in professional courses and the research field,” Stagg affirmed.
Brown, who visited India for the first time in January this year as shadow prime minister and chancellor of the exchequer, is expected to sign a number of agreements spanning education, health, scientific research and the knowledge economy.
On his first official visit to India’s Silicon hub last week after replacing Michael Arthur in September, Stagg went around to some leading British firms in the IT and BT (biotech) sectors such as ARM, AstraZenaca and HSBC (back office services) for a firsthand account of their operations.
Admitting there were some issues with the Indian government on the opening up of some sectors such as financial services and retail, Stagg said several British firms were looking forward to investing in the subcontinent or setting up shop to benefit from the second fastest growing economy in Asia.
“The Indian economy has some regulations, which are uncommon in Britain. Though we do not have much of a problem in the knowledge sector (IT & BT), we have issues in the financial services and retail sectors. The constraints are reducing engagements between Indian and British firms,” Stagg averred, expressing hope for further liberalisation of the Indian economy.