Wadhwani skills colleges

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Wadhwani!Skills!Colleges!
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India!needs!to!create!tens!of!millions!of!skilled!knowledge!workers!to!sustain!its!
economic!growth,!meet!global!demand!and!fulfill!its!human!potential.!With!a!
Higher!Education!Gross!Enrollment!Ratio!(GER)!of!only!12.4%,!this!skill!gap!
needs!to!be!urgently!addressed.!Though!degrees!are!considered!prestigious,!
issues!of!accessibility,!affordability!and!employability!prevent!many!students!
from!pursuing!higher!education.!
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To!meet!the!skill!demands!of!a!growing!Indian!economy!and!increasing!youth!
population,!Wadhwani!Foundation!launched!the!Skills!Colleges!Initiative.!This!
will!build!worldJclass!capacity!for!three!million!higher!education!seats!tightly!
linked!with!marketJlinked!vocational!education.!Working!closely!with!Industry,!
Central!&!State!Governments!as!well!as!Educational!Institutes,!the!Initiative!aims!
to!offer!a!faster,!cheaper!and!better!alternative!to!the!regular!college!track!and!
thus!open!the!doors!to!the!4.5!million!youth!left!behind!after!completing!Class!12!
each!year.!The!initiative!will!provide!a!shorter!cycle!industry!driven!certificate,!
diploma!and!Associate!Degree!programs!with!flexibility!to!transfer!credits!to!
mainstream!degrees.!The!thrust!is!to!link!education!to!jobs!that!not!only!fulfills!
lifelong!improvement!in!skills!but!also!meets!the!knowledge!worker!demand!of!
Industry!and!international!businesses.!
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For!bridging!the!national!skill!gaps,!Vocational!Education!and!Training!
institutions!across!the!spectrum!of!size,!location!and!specializations!need!to!
overcome!barriers!to!quickly!start!and!scale!up!quality!programs.!To!enable!this,!
Wadhwani!Foundation!provides!capacity!building!services!in!Industry!driven!
Curriculum! and! Courseware! development,!Faculty! Training!along! with!
Technology!enablement!for!innovation,!flexibility!and!reach.!!
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The!Skills!Colleges!Initiative!has!actively!engaged!with!the!Ministry!of!Human!
Resources!and!Development!(MHRD)!and!related!Government!entities!like!
National!Skill!Development!Corporation!(NSDC)!in!the!National!Vocational!

2. !Educational!Qualification!Framework!(NVEQF)!that!has!similar!goals.!It!has!
become!the!nonprofit!partner!of!choice!for!these!implementations,!having!
started!supporting!the!pilot!in!Haryana!State’s!40!schools!and!also!engaging!
with!proposed!projects!in!West!Bengal,!Assam!and!Karnataka!To!validate!its!
output!with!academia,!an!MOU!with!PSS!Central!Institute!of!Vocational!
Education!(the!division!of!NCERT!(National!Council!for!Education!and!Research)!
responsible!for!vocational!curriculum!development!and!teacher!training)!is!
being!signed.!!
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In!the!private!sector!space,!it!is!setting!up!a!Vocational!Teacher!Training!Institute!
in!partnership!with!Jindal!Education!and!Montgomery!College!USA.!An!MOU!
to!provide!technical!partnership!for!such!programs!at!state!and!institutional!
levels!has!been!signed!with!Virginia!Community!College!System!–!consisting!of!
23!community!colleges!over!40!campuses.!It!is!also!driving!an!innovative!direct!
CompanyJCollege!partnership!with!24/7!Customer,!a!BPO!company!and!St.!
Josephs!College,!Bangalore!to!drive!a!“HireJTrainJInternJPlace”!proof!of!
concept!model.!The!intent!is!to!build!on!these!pilots!to!form!the!basis!for!
developing!a!National!Skill!Knowledge!Network!to!support!integrating!
relevant!skills!into!mainstream!education.!
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