Research in Skills

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Skills research project is an outcome of a collaborative partnership between the British Council, Alliance of Skills Training providers and Nationals Skills Development Corporation (NSDC). The research was undertaken by DEFT Advisory and Research, India with inputs and contributions from Elmvine Ltd, UK.

The study examined trainer effectiveness within private sector training providers delivering training funded by NSDC. It aimed to understand available support and practices to build trainers’ skills, particularly through professional development initiatives. The research report makes recommendations and highlights relevant examples from the UK and other international skills systems that could address gaps in relation to the findings.

The objectives of the study were to:

• understand the training and related opportunities available to the trainers to improve quality of their training
• understand the content of trainer training and the balance between strengthening the trainers’ subject knowledge and their knowledge of the available curriculum and assessment they are teaching to
• map the available trainer training related to improving their overall pedagogical skills
• map the gaps in the existing training offer and continuing professional development and the impact and challenges that these pose to trainer effectiveness

View the report in the download section below.  

Technological change and innovation are key drivers of economic change. Industry 4.0 is a term given to the current wave of technological change, underpinned by advances in the connectivity between humans and machines. There is much speculation about the nature and scale of the potential impacts of Industry 4.0; like previous industrial transitions, Industry 4.0 will have far-reaching implications for the way that we live and work. 

Cambridge Econometrics (CE) was commissioned by the British Council to prepare this Foundation Report to recommend how the National Skills Research Division (NSRD) should take forward its own research into the potential impacts of Industry 4.0, on the economy, and on current and future skills in India. 

This research report establishes a baseline in terms of the demand for: Professional Training and Assessment, English Language Training and Assessment and Other Training and Skill Assessments. The research has been carried out across seven key sectors, namely: Auto and Auto Components, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Construction and Infrastructure, Engineering, Healthcare, Tourism, Hospitality and Travel and Leadership and Management and covers 12 cities.  The research has identified that there is both a significant demand and robust market-place for providing additional skills and qualifications to graduates, which comprises both domestic and international players. However, awareness of what is available varies significantly by sector and seniority.

The Skills Seminar on 17th November at NEC launched a new report - Overview of India's Evolving Skill Development Landscape.

The governments of India and the UK have made Skill Development a priority in their respective countries and it is a key part of their bi-lateral relationship. The current government in India has made significant changes to the governance of Skills in India, in what is already a complex landscape. Therefore, this report is a useful introduction for UK Skills providers to help navigate India’s skill sector. It provides a snapshot of the skills system and highlights the skills structures and includes the historic background, new policies and programmes, ministries involved and UK organisations working in this sector in India.

The continuing efforts of the government to improve the education and skill development deficit and the increasing demand for market-oriented skills, there seems to be a clear mandate for innovative methods to achieve skilling targets.

Given this need to embrace innovative models for skilling, the British High Commission and the British Council are working with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, to identify how the UK and India can work together to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for UK providers to deliver high quality skills training at scale in India through blending learning model. The model that has been explored is Skill Development Using Railway Infrastructure and Armed Forces.

This discussion paper offers a starting point to analyse the skills assessment sector, with a focus on three states: Haryana, Maharashtra and Odisha. It also focuses primarily on aspects of third-party assessment, including funding; assessor recruitment and resourcing; skills gaps in the assessor workforce; assessment processes; quality assurance; and certification and placement.  It also outlines key recommendations for further development of the Indian skills assessment sector.  

This research study addresses the following two objectives identified by the English Skills for Employability (ESfE) Think Tank2: 

• evaluate the need to develop a new entry level within the context of the Common European Reference Framework, that recognises achievement at A0 (pre-A1) level.
• conduct action research with three sectors – construction, healthcare and hospitality – in order to develop a white paper on how the linguistic levels of the CEFR could be best integrated into vocational qualifications developed under the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).  

To address the growing need for English Skills for Employability in India, the British Council and the National Skills Development Agency (NSDA) invited key UK and Indian stakeholders to join an English Skills for Employability (ESfE) Think Tank. The objective of the ESfE Think Tank is to provide a platform for stakeholders to discuss needs, share experiences and identify ways of working together to address the key priorities emerging from the discussions. This document outlines the context in which the Think Tank functioned and gives an overview of the meetings and discussions that have taken place so far.

View the complete report in the downloads section below.