New Delhi, June 19th2024.
The Ministry of Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)in collaboration with the Australian Government hosted a comprehensive and a productive
roundtable to discuss the learnings from the Australia-India Critical
Agriculture Skills Pilot Project.Led by Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, MSDE
and Mr. Mathew Johnston, Minister Counsellor, Education
and Research, Australian High Commission, the roundtable focussed on the opportunities that lay beyond in taking
the initiative forward, bringing it up to scale and replicating the model to
other sectors. Representatives from National Council for Vocational Education
and Training (NCVET), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Indian
Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Education(MoE) and Agriculture
Skill Council of India (ASCI) were also part of the roundtable.
Envisaged in March last year, the
project came to fruition after an extensive process of consultation with experts,
government organisations, research organisations, multilateral organisations,
non-profit organisations, and industry associations. The scoping study involved
face-to-face consultations, virtual consultations with 89 experts from 64
organizations and a review of various government reports.The findings were
shared with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and
the Australian Government and subsequently 107 emerging job roles were mapped
to identify the 5 critical emerging job roles in the agriculture sector for the
pilot projects.
The next step was to align
qualification standards, which was done by Agricultural Skill Council of India
(ASCI), and Skills Impact (Sector Skill Council equivalent industry body in
Australia), in collaboration, to be approved by National Council for Vocational
Education and Training (NCVET).
The six pilot projects nearing completion have been implemented in 4 states, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana with new and emerging job roles in the sector that include Digital Agriculture Extension Promoter, Carbon Farming Practitioner, Livestock Green Management Promoter, Organic Farm & Business Promoter and Integrated Farming Practitioner. The job roles are aligned with Sustainable Development Goals, primarily climate action, reduced inequalities, quality education and industry, innovation & infrastructure.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) said, “The collaboration between India and Australia in Vocational Education and Training has delivered on outcomes and this project is just another testament. Agriculture sector, the backbone of Indian economy is of utmost significance for its role in ensuring food security and employment and with sustained efforts such as the Australia-India Critical Agriculture Skills Project we ensure that the sector meets the challenges of modernization and sustainability. We hope to continue the momentum and take similar initiatives to many other sectors as well.”
Australia has been a key partner for India
and both countries are working together on capacity building and training,
identifying opportunities in key sectors for closer skill cooperation with a
particular focus on new-age courses as per the changing needs and demographics
across both the Nations. Following NEP 2020, India has come up with new
initiatives for promoting internationalization of education that include
regulations for Joint/ Dual/ Twinning degrees and a draft regulation for
setting up campuses of foreign universities in India.