Siemens Signs Declaration of Intent with MSDE, BMZ for High-quality Vocational Training

Siemens Limited signed a Joint Declaration of Intent with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India (MSDE), Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ) to create framework conditions for high-quality training in India based on Dual Vocational Education and Training (Dual VET).

The Declaration of Intent was signed by Dr K. P. Krishnan, Secretary of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ, Germany and Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited. The emphasis would be on ‘Green Skills’ in innovative, sustainable sectors and technologies such as renewable energy, e-mobility and energy efficiency.

“With rapid technological changes taking place, it is critical that India is able to provide an Industry-ready workforce. To realize this, upskilling, reskilling and cross-skilling are imperative. The German Dual Vocational Educational Training methods will contribute significantly to this end. We are pleased to partner with the MSDE and the BMZ in scaling up our skilling initiatives from currently 13,000 students a year to around 500,000 students by 2023,” said Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH will implement its develoPPP program on behalf of BMZ. As part of the develoPPP program, GIZ and Siemens Limited intend to sign a cooperation agreement for the implementation of a joint project called ‘Skills for Sustainable Growth’ in partnership with MSDE.

"Dual (school-based and on-the-job) vocational training that is strongly rooted in practical experience gained on the job – as we practise it in Germany – has become a role model. We are excited that a country as important as India is increasingly using this model to skill its workforce, as it is facing the challenge of integrating one million young people in the labour market every month. Siemens is an ideal partner to push this forward in very practical ways. And we are happy that we are jointly focusing on the most promising sectors that enable sustainable development in the future, such as solar energy, energy efficiency and e-mobility," said Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ, Germany.

Siemens in India has various ongoing programs in the area of skill development, focusing on creating industry-ready workforce targeting trainees of Government ITIs and students of Government Engineering Colleges. The initiatives include Siemens Technical Academy and Dual VET at Government ITIs in partnership with Tata STRIVE, Siemens Scholarship program and Centres of Excellence. The ‘Skills for Sustainable growth’ along with the existing initiatives aims to address demand by creating around 500,000 skilled workforces by 2023.