(R-L): Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, and Katsunobu Kato, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, sign the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan on Technical Intern Training Programme, in Tokyo.

In what is a boost for skill development and technical training , India and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for a Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP).

On October 17, Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan signed the MoC on behalf of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of the government of India with Katsunobu Kato, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan at the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare in Tokyo, Japan.

The MoC on TITP is expected to significantly expand the bilateral cooperation between India and Japan in the field of skill development. India is the third country with which Japan has signed the MoC as per the requirements of the Technical Intern Training Act scheduled to come into force in November 2017.

In the bilateral joint statement issued during the visit of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to India in September 2017, the two prime ministers expressed confidence that synergy between Japan’s advanced technology and India’s rich human resources can transform both countries into new centres of production in the global industrial network. In this regard, they underscored the potential to further cooperate in human resources development and exchanges utilising such frameworks as Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program (TITP).

On-the-job training in Japan

The MoC on TITP paves the way for sending Indian technical interns to Japan for on-the-job training for a period of three to five years. As per the government of Japan’s data for end-2016, approximately 230,000 technical intern trainees from multiple countries are on training in Japan. In 2016, about 108,709 technical interns entered Japan from various partner countries such as Vietnam, China and Indonesia that account for large numbers.

According to the ambassador of India to Japan, Sujan R. Chinoy, there is scope for India to enhance its participation in Japan’s Technical Intern Training Programme, thereby contributing to the plan to make India the largest provider of skilled workforce for the world. The Technical Intern Training Programme is an ideal platform through which complementary strengths of India and Japan could be leveraged for mutual benefit. The technical interns trained in Japan under the TITP would be an asset for the Skill India initiative upon their return to India.

During the visit of prime minister Narendra Modi to Japan in November 2016, India and Japan had concluded an MoC on skill development under the Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme through the establishment of Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing (JIM) and the Japanese Endowed Courses (JEC) in engineering colleges designated by Japanese companies in India. The Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme aims to train 30,000 persons over the next 10 years with Japanese-style manufacturing skills and practices.

The first four JIMs were established in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu in July-August 2017 respectively by Suzuki, Toyota, Daikin and Yamaha. The first Japanese Endowed Course (JEC) in was established in NBKR Institute of Science & Technology Andhra Pradesh by Meidensha Co. in September 2017.