G20 meet in February: Skill gaps, blended learning and more

Did you know that India holds the presidency for G20 from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023? India will work to mobilise gig and platform workers as part of its G20 presidency. This significant workforce has emerged as one of the largest contributors to the economy through skill integration and the development of a framework to assess global skill gaps among participating countries in order to enable quick and efficient labour mobility across nations.

To develop employment-related agendas through its employment working group, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) has been designated as the nodal ministry (EWG). The Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), which are the two primary ministries working on this sector, will collaborate closely with it to establish the frameworks.

Below are the themes and topics to be discussed during the G20 meetings.

Education Working Group (EdWG)

The G20 meeting on the Education Working Group (EdWG) will be held on February 1 and 2, in Chennai. It will focus on ensuring foundational literacy and numeracy, especially in the context of blended learning, making technology-enabled learning more inclusive.

It will also focus on:

• Building capacities
• Promoting lifelong learning in the context of future work
• Strengthening research
• Promoting innovation through partnerships

Employment Working Group (EWG)

The Employment Working Group (EWG) nodal ministry, the ministry of labour and employment, is organizing the meeting in Jodhpur from February 2 to 4.

The key themes of the upcoming G20 Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting will focus on,

• Rise of the gig economy and platform workers
• Employment opportunities for youth
• Social security
• Breaking the barrier between skill training and higher education

Open-source online education for G20 countries

By focusing on providing free education and low-cost certification in technical courses, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and other Indian academic institutions will need to significantly contribute to the G20’s emerging countries.

Academics and researchers approached school and college students from all backgrounds at the IIT-Madras campus in Chennai as part of the “G20 University Connect” Lecture Series.

Also read: NSN Weekly newsbytes on skills, education and training- 24012023

The G20 will provide India with the chance to showcase its achievements in the field of education on a global platform as well as to learn about and share the best practices of other countries.