New Delhi (NVI): Governments of India and Japan today signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Specified Skill Workers which will help facilitate the movement of skilled workers from India to Japan.
The MoC was signed by India’s Foreign Secretary, Harsh Varhdan Shringla and Suzuki Satoshi, Ambassador of Japan to India, according to a statement issued by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The agreement covers 14 categories of specified skills under which skilled workers from India who meet the skills requirement and Japanese language tests would be eligible for employment in Japan on a contractual basis and would be granted the status of “specified skilled worker”, MEA statement added.
The 14 specified industry fields include nursing care, building cleaning, material processing, industrial machinery manufacturing, electric and electronic information, construction, shipbuilding and ship-related industry, automobile maintenance, aviation, lodging, agriculture, fisheries, food and beverages manufacturing and food services industry.
MEA further stated, “A Joint Working Group (JWG), comprising officials from both countries, will be constituted in the near future to work out operational details and smooth implementation of this programme.”
India and Japan have, in the last few years, strengthened their cooperation in the area of skills development.
Earlier in 2016, both countries signed the “Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme” agreement for the training of 30,000 people over 10 years with Japanese style manufacturing skills and practices through the establishment of the Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing (JIM) and Japanese Endowed Courses (JEC) in colleges across India. Out of these, 13 JIMs and 5 JECs are already operational.
Then in 2017, both the countries signed the “Technical Intern Training Programme” agreement to enable Indian youth to avail of internships in Japan across diverse industry sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, construction, textiles and agriculture.
The MoC on Specified Skilled Workers marks a further step to augment India-Japan collaboration in the area of skill development.
-CHK
