The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) at the FICCI "Global Skills Summit" in Delhi from 15 to 16 September 2011
Maren Verfürth
As in previous years, in 2011 the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training again took part in the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (FICCI) "Global Skills Summit". This year saw the fourth staging of the annual event, which took place in Delhi from 15 to 16 September 2011 and was once more jointly organised by FICCI in conjunction with the Ministry of Labour & Employment (MOL&E). The "Global Skills Summit" is a forum which focuses on policy, trade and industry and society. The theme for 2011 was: "Vocational Education & Training: Developing a Strategic and Implementation Framework". The main focus was on the issue of how the 12th Five Year Plan can serve as a vehicle for driving forwards the modernisation of Indian vocational education and training.
The "4th Global Skills Summit" also addressed current issues relating to the VET reform in India and offered an important platform for national and international dialogue. Alongside the United Kingdom, German delegates also provided significant representation from abroad. A total of approximately 500 participants were at this year's summit.
At the request of FICCI, BIBB joined Festo and the ICON Institute on the German Panel to deliver a presentation on the topic of "National Occupational Standards", the aim of which was to explain the way in which such standards were perceived at an institutional level. The presentation provided a well-founded overview of the development of occupational standards in Germany, and its contents were later once again picked up with interest by Indian partners in subsequent sessions, where they provided an object of debate. In addition, BIBB was also represented at the Joint German Stand where it provided information about the work carried out by the institute.
German Panel (fom the left): Volker Schmid (Festo), Moderator Sushil Ramola (B-ABLE), Priv.-Doz. Dr. Franz Dunkel, RCM Reddy (FICCI), Maren Verfürth (BIBB) - Copyright iMOVE
Prior to the "Global Skills Summit" itself, BIBB had met representatives from the National Skills Development Initiative (NSDC) to take part in a planning workshop aimed at agreeing on the content to be addressed and the requirements oriented approach to be adopted in a series of workshops on the topic of "Occupational Standards". The first workshop of this series will be a one-day event scheduled for November in which the NSDC will take on the lead management role as well as assuming organisational responsibility. The target groups for this workshop are Government representatives, the Sector Skills Councils and industry, all of which will be invited to attend.
During the FICCI Summit, a further meeting with representatives from the Central Staff Training and Research Institute (CSTARI) was also held at the BIBB Information Stand. It had been ascertained as long ago as May that the institute and the NSDC had a high degree of interest in the theme of "Occupational Standards" and that, with the agreement of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, both should be involved in the series of workshops. The contents and organisational details of a study trip to Germany to be undertaken by three to four CSTARI representatives in February 2012 were also discussed at the meeting.
Maren Verfürth (BIBB) with Dircktor,Amalan (in the middle), and otherCSTARI-representatifs
Since 2008, BIBB and iMOVE have been engaged in a close degree of cooperation with the Indian Government and with Indian trade and industry associations within the scope of the Joint Indo-German Working Group on Vocational Education and Training, a body which is under the lead management of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). FICCI has more than 80,000 member companies and is the largest and oldest association of its kind in India. It has proved itself to be a particularly committed and interested partner with regard to vocational education and training issues. Im October 2010, FICCI and BIBB signed an agreement committing to regular exchange across a large number of VET fields, such as quality assurance, the training of training staff, the development of VET standards, examinations and certifications.
