EU, India join hand to launch skill development project

NEW DELHI: The European Union and India join hand to introduce a skill development project in India. As per plans, EU will invest €6 million over the next four- and-a-half years.

Dr Joao Cravinho, the Ambassador of EU, has stressed the need for such project in India and maintained that by 2020 the world is likely to face a shortfall of 47 million skilled workers, while India is pegged to have a surplus of 56 million workers.

“For India to realise the demographic dividend, the young people need to be properly skilled. If India achieves that there will be no stopping India in the 21st century,” said Cravinho.

The EU aid is the part of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked by India and EU on exchange in the field on employment and social policy and for technical assistance and skills development.

The Indian government projects to skill 500 million workers by 2022.

Dilip Chenoy, Chief Executive Officer of the National Skill Development Corp, said, “No country has taken up the task of skilling 500 million people in the span of six to seven years. This is an important partnership for India.”