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Skill development ministry, World Economic Forum sign MoU to boost vocational training
The ecosystem involves skill centres, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics, that deliver practical skills for jobs, careers, and employability
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New Delhi: Union ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to collaborate on strengthening India’s skills and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) ecosystem.
The ecosystem involves skill centres, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics, that deliver practical skills for jobs, careers, and employability.
Under the MoU, the ministry will collaborate with the WEF to launch and implement a ‘Skills Accelerator’ in India, a multi-stakeholder platform aimed at identifying, scaling, and accelerating innovative solutions and exploring public–private partnerships to address critical skills gaps in the workforce, the MSDE said in a press release on Thursday.
The accelerator will support efforts to strengthen India’s TVET ecosystem by “ensuring closer alignment between skilling initiatives and the evolving demands of industry and the global economy.”
The implementation of the MoU will be overseen through a governance framework involving co-chairs from government and the private sector, in collaboration with the WEF. MSDE will set the strategic direction of the skills accelerator while coordinating stakeholder engagement, and contributing to monitoring and impact assessment mechanisms.
Jayant Chaudhary, minister of state (independent charge) for MSDE said the formalization of the India skills accelerator, in partnership with the WEF, marks a key milestone in building a future-ready, globally competitive workforce.
“By bringing government, industry, and education together, the initiative strengthens coordinated action to address current and emerging skill gaps, enable outcome-based skill financing, and promote lifelong learning and alignment with global labour-market demand,” he said.
According to MSDE, the skill accelerator initiative will bridge critical skill gaps, enhance the global employability of India’s youth, and ensure that India’s talent pool is aligned with emerging domains such as artificial intelligence (AI), green energy, robotics, and advanced manufacturing.
Sanjiv Bajaj, co-chair for India Skills Accelerator initiative, and chairman and managing director, Bajaj Finserv Ltd., said, “With over 500 million people under the age of 25, skilling India’s youth is central to converting our demographic advantage into economic leadership.”
