India is well-positioned geo-economically and geopolitically to create and provide globally-skilled workforce, an official of the Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday.
Addressing the 9th Global Summit on Skill Development, MEA Secretary (CPV & OIA) Sanjay Bhattacharyya said India stands ready to improve the presence of highly-skilled workers and professionals through mutually-beneficial arrangements with Europe, the US and Japan.
Today’s world is characterised by globalisation that thrives on mobility of global talent. Specialisation, domain-specific knowledge and skills are key to success and will also determine employability of the youth, who form India’s demographic dividend and an advantage the country shall have into the second half of 21st century, according to Bhattacharyya.
Speaking on ‘The Future of Work -- Creating Globally Competitive Skilled Workforce’ the senior MEA official said India was well-positioned in traditional labour markets in the Gulf and Europe.
“India’s success story in the Gulf is well-known and there are over 9 million Indian workers and professionals in these countries,” he said. “The leadership in the Gulf has acknowledged their contribution to the development of the region and Indians are the preferred option for Gulf countries.” Noting that India’s share in the European labour market has also shown positive signs, Bhattacharyya said a recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation (OECD) study revealed that of the 12 crore migrants living in OECD countries, 30-35 per cent were highly-educated with academic and vocational training.
India was ranked at the top with more than 3 lakh highly-educated Indians in the OECD countries, which is reflective of the skilled and trained workforce that India possesses, he said.
{{/usCountry}}India was ranked at the top with more than 3 lakh highly-educated Indians in the OECD countries, which is reflective of the skilled and trained workforce that India possesses, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Bhattacharyya said the signing of the India-EU Declaration of Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility in 2016 affirmed the shared objectives of better organising and promoting regular migration at all levels, maximising the development impact of migration and mobility for mutual benefit.
“We are also working to provide enabling frameworks through Migration and Mobility Partnerships. While the agreement has been concluded with France, agreements with Portugal, Germany, Benelux, UK and Japan (outside EU) are in the pipeline,” he said, adding that several other countries were also interested in such agreements.
“India stands ready to improve the presence of highly skilled workers and professionals through mutually beneficial arrangements with Europe, the US and Japan,” Bhattacharyya said.
“India is well-positioned geo-economically and geo-politically to create and provide globally skilled workforce due to our competitive advantage, the English language, and strong core skills in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects,” he said.
Strengthening English and other business language programmes like German, Spanish, French or Japanese will ensure greater mobility, employability and readiness to join the global workforce, he asserted.