TUV Rhineland's use of German best practices in skill development.

Well acquainted with India and the need for organized and scalable models of vocational education, TUV Rhineland has embarked on many training programs. In this Skill Story, Thomas Fuhrmann, CEO and MD , TUV Rhineland India , shares his experience of skilling the youth in India and making them employable. Let’s read on to know more about how the German Dual Model is being adapted in the training courses and support extended for entrepreneurship. TUV Rhineland’s approach to skill development Our company has been in India for 20 years, currently training about 9000 a year in different trades. We have 85 training centers, roughly all over India. We provide different types of training in Fire Safety, Renewable Energy, Mobility, Welding, Mechanics, Lift Technology, Fibre Optics Technology and retail. TUV Rhineland NIFE conducts most of the NSDC approved training programs. Our goal is to provide professional training through our network of training centers spread across India. We also have Centers of Excellence (CoE), corporate partnerships and a CSR wing to support our social impact initiatives. We follow a different approach when compared to other training service providers. We try to combine the theoretical and practical aspects of training for enhancing productivity and quality of our trainees. As you know, in Germany we have a dual education system where students deepen their understanding through practical work in the industry. We implement similar concepts and strategies in all our training programs. Adapting the German model In most of our training modules, we have a share of 30:70. This means 30% theoretical training is conducted in the classroom, 70% at the job site or in the industrial training center, using laboratory equipment. We partner with the industries; they provide the typical environment to impart hands-on training. This helps the trainees immensely in applying their knowledge and in gaining practical understanding and application of knowledge and skills on the job. Many impactful initiatives have started in India and if things go in the same direction for next few years as it seems right now, we will definitely see lot of positive outcomes in the skill space. If India has to develop as a strong production nation, we will need a strong base of skilled workforce. Industry has to understand that it’s not a ping-pong game and there needs to be a combined effort and ownership. We also need the right infrastructure to support various initiatives such as Make in India. Thomas Fuhrmann In another uniquely designed 9-month program, we provide 8 months of practical industry-led training and one month of theoretical classroom-based learning. This gives the students a thorough understanding and a well-grounded base to launch their careers. And, for the employers, it makes a huge difference to see that the new employees have already worked with them in concerned areas and have acquired specialized skills. Support for entrepreneurship and employment In all programs, we try to prepare trainees for getting qualified to become entrepreneurs and open their own business. It is an integral part of our training modules. For instance, for the Suryamitra project where we train people in the field of solar energy, a part of our training is also to enable students to become confidence in opening their own business. We also help them with linkages for financial support, legal aspects of starting up, applying for business license, interaction with business partners and execution of the contract. Thus, we move beyond providing technical or theoretical understanding and practical knowledge on topics regarding solar energy, also help them launch as entrepreneurs. We do absorb a large number of trainees in our companies. All of our employees were our former students (80% of them) and nearly all of our local employees in India were trained by us. We train people not only for our demand but we also for meeting the external demand. Challenges in skill development I’ve been in India for more than 2 years and I’m well acquainted with the issues surrounding skill development and young students. One of the biggest challenges is to convince them to join vocational courses and mobilise them to take up typical skilled-based training. We target students with low achievements or those who are dropouts and are keen on seeking another opportunity to learn, earn and grow. Like in many countries, in India too skilling and vocational training is not aspirational and does not hold high reputation. It is not exciting of a young person to become a skilled worker by investing in training. Everybody likes to become an engineer or a management professional and would like to go abroad for higher studies. Dealing with this situation is quite a challenge. Another challenge is that the reputation of a skilled worker in India is much lower when compared to the countries I worked in before. I’m a German, and I was educated in Germany. I lived for 10 years in Taiwan, 5 years in China, where I saw outstanding development in those countries supported by strong skilled workers. While there is a demand for qualified skilled workforce in India, and there is a lot of talk around it, we need to make it work. Especially, if projects like “Make in India” have to be implemented successfully, it needs to be connected well with “Skill India”. We have to work much harder on promoting the value of our services. Attracting and retaining youth Young people in India are mostly looking for short-term success that comes with easy and high paid jobs. The crux of the matter is that the industry needs to pay attractive compensation for the skilled workers. And there should be more awareness at the social level with due recognition to skilled jobs, like how it is in China and Taiwan. We have to work more in this direction and ensure better payment and better recognition in society. We also need to adopt technology for better reach and consistent learning outcomes.

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