A Vocational Education and Training (VET) Initiative, bringing the Swiss Dual-Track Vocational System to India has been launched by the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce (SICC) .

The Initiative's launch marks the 60th anniversary of Friendship Treaty signed between India and Switzerland on 14th August 1948. In fact, it was the first such treaty that India signed with another country after independence, leading to special relations between the two countries in many fields.

SICC launched the Swiss-Indian Vocational Education and Training initiative (VET) in partnership with the Swiss Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET), Swiss Federal Institute for
Vocational Education and Training (SVIFET) and The Swiss Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Industries (Swissmem).

The initiative aims to introduce the Swiss dual-track vocational system to India in order to address the country's shortfall of skilled factory labour. Select industrial training institutes (ITIs) from the States of Maharashtra and Karnataka, as well as four Swiss companies, Bobst India, Burckhardt Compressions India, Bühler India and Rieter India, are participating in the pilot project. In this phase, local Indian instructors and trainers are taking courses from Swiss teachers and factory trainers on Swiss approaches
to teaching manufacturing theory and practice.

The local teachers and trainers will, in turn, adopt these approaches when instructing their students in the classroom and on the factory floor. The project will be ramped up in 2010 and 2011 to include more sectors and companies. The ultimate goal is for the Indian students to graduate with a diploma that will be recognized in both India and Switzerland.

On the occasion of a joint SICC/VET mission from Switzerland, the SICC hosted dinner seminars in Delhi (Embassy of Switzerland, July 20), Mumbai (Trident Hotel, July 21) and Bangalore (The Chancery
Pavilion, July 24) to showcase the VET program to members of the local business and educational Community. Speakers at the seminars included Franz Probst, Chairman, SICC and Dr. Ursula Renold, Director General,

At the Mumbai VET seminar, H. E. Mr. Philippe Welti, Ambassador of Switzerland to India shared his experience on Vocational Education Training Project. It is an undertaking of both Switzerland and India. It's a permanent Public-Private Partnership.

He said the VET programme is mainly about development of individuals' skills and it is a key to self employment, which in turn is a key to successful entrepreneurship. That is the Swiss way to vocational education.

Ambassador Welti said that being skilled is the first condition in life. The message in this project is skills are the key to success in life for individuals and professionals.

"I am in India for my mission and it's a great country which loves debates. I am with a mission to promote economic relations," Ambassador Welti said.

In her address, Ms. Indu Sahani said that vocationalization is the need of the hour. The two reasons why vocational education did not become successful in India are; obsession to get a graduate degree and there is no link between the educational institutions and the corporate world.

She said the Uinversity Grants Commission (UGC) has taken up vocational education at the degree level.

India has the largest university system in the world. It has 479 universities. Out of which we have 10 million students enrolled for education. Only 3.0 percent of them eligible for vocational education.

Ms. Sahani said that noted IT expert Sam Pitroda dreamt of an India having 1000 universities by 2015. But now the question arises. How many graduates are eligible? There is urgent need for vocational training for professional to match the international standards of industry.

The important aspect is building of skills for rapidly growing industrial workforce is the need of the hour. A large percentage of people are illiterate and only 17 percent has attained secondary education. The main reason for the same is the quality of most graduates is poor. The corporate world is offering 16 percent of these young graduates compared to 90 percent on China.

Ms. Sahani said, "We need to create vocational training to develop the nation. Vocational education in India is termed as not right thing to do. It's an attitude to consider it as the manual work. But people forget it's not college or institution. It need hands to build skills.

She referred to the recent Budget and said that it is heartening as it concentrates on vocational training. Recently President Barack Obama announced 12 billion package for community education, wherein upgrading the Class X student through vocational training in America.

She quoted Dr. Manmohan Singh, who liberalized the Indian economy as saying during his tenure as the finance minister in 1991, " No one can stop an idea whose time has come. No one can stop Vocational Education whose time has come in India, Ns. Sahani added.