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UK Minister for Skills to visit India

Matthew Hancock's visit to India will promote partnerships in education and UK expertise in training and educational technology.

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Matthew Hancock

The UK Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise, Matthew Hancock MP returns for his second official visit to India from 16 - 17 January 2014. Mr Hancock’s visit to Delhi will:

  • enhance the UK-India partnership on education and skills

  • promote the use of the latest mobile and computer-based learning

  • encourage English as a key skill for employability

He will meet Indian Minister of State for Labour and Employment, K. Suresh. The meeting will to explore further collaboration under a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for co-operation on skills development and employment services.

He will also meet Minister of State for Human Resource and Development, Shashi Tharoor to discuss next steps on work with 25 community colleges. This MoU was signed last year between the UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Indian Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD). It was part of the UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI).

He will also highlight the role UK companies are playing in harnessing the latest technologies to deliver world-class education and will test-drive Vodafone’s pioneering mobile learning project.

Roundtable

The minister will attend a roundtable on ‘English Skills for Employability’. It will also be attended by:

  • Dilip Chenoy, CEO of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)

  • J P Rai, Director General, National Skill Development Agency (NSDA)

  • senior representatives from Indian organisations

  • UK English language training providers such as Trinity College London and Pearson Education

The roundtable will be hosted by the British Council in New Delhi.

The event will also see the Minister launch a new publicity campaign English is GREAT, designed to boost links between UK and Indian English language service providers.

Speaking before his India visit Matthew Hancock said:

Better skills are vital for creating jobs and sustaining economic growth the world over. We have much to learn from India, and much to offer. So I am looking forward to strengthening the existing UK-India ties in education.

UK companies are at the forefront of developing the latest in education technologies - such as delivering remote learning from world-class institutions. This is one of the reasons why the UK is excellently placed to be the partner of choice in helping India to achieve its target of training 500 million people by 2022.

The English language is fast becoming the world’s language of choice. Top quality UK providers are ready and able to offer India the best in English language training.

Further information

  • Further details and a photograph of Matthew Hancock.
  • The campaign, English is Great is an initiative by the British High Commission in partnership with UK English language providers in India to promote English as a key employability skill and the top quality internationally recognised products and services UK providers offer to English language learners in India.
  • English Skills for Employability Think Tank meeting is jointly convened by the British Council and the National Skills Development Agency and chaired by J P Rai, Director General NSDA and Chris Brandwood, Director English, British Council South Asia.
  • UKIERI is a multi-stakeholder bilateral programme, launched in 2006 to strengthen the educational relationship between India and the UK and set an example of best practice in international cooperation. The programme is supported and funded by Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, British Council, Indian Department for Science and Technology, Department for Employment and Learning, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and University Grants Commission.

Contacts

Marcus Winsley, Director,
Press and Communications
British High Commission,
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
Tel: 44192100; Fax: 24192411

Chandeep.Kaur@fco.gov.uk

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Published 14 January 2014