Tata hospital may train more cancer doctors

Over 800,000 Indians are diagnosed with cancer and about 550,000 lose their lives to the disease every year, according to estimates. However, the country is producing fewer specialists to treat the disease. A document prepared by the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) in Parel on human resources in oncology has underlined the need for urgent steps to increase the number of cancer surgeons and medical oncologists in the country. The report has been presented to the Ministry of Health.

Currently, the combined output of all cancer institutes numbers some  45 surgical oncologists annually. Of these, TMH alone produces 16. The situation is worse in the case of medical oncologists as there are only 43 seats and TMH alone trains 10 candidates. The Centre has advised the Medical Council of India (MCI) to look into options to increase the number of positions in oncology.

"The idea is to have a pool of doctors by the end of few years so that at least each public medical college will have an oncology department and deal with the increasing burden of cancer," said an official from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
More specialists will also lead to a corresponding requirement for more ancillary staff such as nurses and medical technicians.

Manufacturing Training

Read the manufacturing sector view here

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma have announced announced the cabinet's approval of the national manufacturing policy.

The policy envisages seven manufacturing and investment zones (MIZs), which will create 100 million jobs and raise the share of manufacturing to 25% of GDP by 2022 from the 15% to 16% share at present.
The new zones, which are a variant of special export zones (SEZs) but with a broader domestic base, have incentives through subsidies for use of green technologies and set up industrial training centres and polytechnics to create the skilled work force to make them operational. Subsidies will also be used to create patent pools for green technologies.

Sharma revealed that the share of manufacturing in India's GDP is low in comparison with economies at a similar stage of growth and development, and that it has declined over the last fifteen years. He said that the share of manufacturing in the GDP in South Korea was 28 per cent, in Indonesia 27 per cent, in Thailand and China (34 per cent).

UK Student Visas

The UK Borders Agency published a list of nearly 1,900 banks in India, most of them cooperative, whose financial statements will not be accepted for student visa purposes, a move that is set to affect thousands of Indian students wanting to study in the UK.

The new list has just 85 Indian banks whose statements will be accepted.

Education consultants from India, however, have welcomed the move saying it will give genuine students a fair chance, and, to a great extent, will be successful in limiting the business of illegal immigration by agents in India.

Suchitra Surve, director, Growth Centre, said, "This has been the case for quite some time now. We have been telling students to avoid showing cooperative bank accounts and to be sure of the authenticity of their papers. Parents are generally not aware of the drawbacks of showing accounts in cooperative banks. But if parents and students are made aware of such criteria, they do shift their money to an accepted bank."

"UK has been among the top three destinations for studying abroad. I don't think this move will show any significant rise or drop in the number of students going there for higher studies," she added.

According to information provided by British Council, in 2010, there were about 51,000 Indian students studying in the UK.

Mohit Gambhir, an expert consultant for higher education in the UK, said, "This is a welcome move. It shouldn't hurt genuine students… There will probably be some control over agents' business of sending X person to the UK with a specific charge."

City and Guilds Report on Sector Skills Councils

The rise of Indian initiatives and plans for growth indicates that India is increasingly creating solutions for itself; amongst these initiatives are the formation of the National Skill Development Corporation, the development of the National Vocational Qualifications Framework, and the implementation of Sector Skillls Councils. The NSDC is leading on the development of Sector Skills Councils in India.

In June 2011, Manipal City and Guilds commissioned an independent, evidence-based research report on the development of Sector Skills Councils in India. Their development is underway, with at least one already established. The gap in analysis, however, is not whether sector bodies are needed in India and which model should be adopted. Rather, it is the lessons that can be learned from international experience and the ways in which they relate specifically to the Indian market. This report highlights the key themes, findings and recommendations of the research.

http://www.manipalcityandguilds.com/

FDI in Indian Retail

FDI in Indian retail has for the moment encountered something of a political hiatus. However, the UKIBC also expects that the policy, if fully implemented, will create hundreds of thousands if not, ultimately, millions of new jobs, including new and better careers in retail for India's young population. There will now be an even higher demand for quality training, both from employers and young people looking to secure their future in the industry. According to Roy Newey, Group Director of A4e and Chair of the UKIBC’s skills forum, “FDI will raise standards across the entire retail sector. It is an exciting time for Indian and UK skills providers to come together and provide innovation solutions over the next few years.”
 

Westminster Kingsway college to open training centre in Guwahati

A training centre of Westminster Kingsway College will be set up in Guwahati to train master trainers in vocational disciplines.

Ms Nicole Barber, Assistant Principal, and Ms Ijeoma Akigwe, Head Marketing at Westminster Kingsway College, appraised Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of the project during a meeting at his official residence in September.

The visit of Ms Barber and Ms Akigwe is a sequel to Mr Gogoi's visit to the London college which took place in August this year.

During the course of the discussions, Ms Barber and Ms Akigwe, who are on a two-day visit to the city, said that the objective of the visit was to further explore the possibility of partnering with the State Education Department in imparting training to teachers and introducing vocational courses in colleges.

Ms Barber and Ms Akigwe also met the Minister, Labour and Employment and Minister, Industries and Commerce and other senior officials. They visited several institutions, including ITI, Guwahati and Cotton College. The Chief Minister thanked them for the keen interest shown by the College and assured all possible support and cooperation from the state government in setting up the training centre in the city.

Bournville College to train young people in Kolkata

Britain’s Bournville College of Further Education's training and consultancy arm will collaborate with companies in Kolkata for upgradation of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). The tie-up will enhance the skills of nearly 1,000 people in the first year of its operation in India.

The college has announced the start of its South Asia operations with Kolkata as its hub.It aims to spread across India, providing a holistic training programme with globally recognised certifications to ITIs.
Bournville provides consultancy programmes focusing on the three key aspects of training - content, infrastructure and technology. It will also bring in its international partners - Shepherd Construction for Infrastructure Development and Broadway Malyan for Architectural Development. The institution itself will provide content. It announced its first strategic collaboration in India with the Globsyn group.

'West Bengal came out as a perfect choice to commence our operations in South Asia as the state has high demand of company products and services, business objectives synergies, low competition and proximity to the ASEAN countries,' said Bournville College principal Norman Cave.

Speaking on the development, Sudeshna Chatterjee, director of the institution's South Asia Development said, 'We are expecting to work with 50 ITIs across India by 2012... We will build capacity and capabilities by creating a 'cache of super trainers' which will then help catalyse and downward filtration process.'The trainers with specials skills would be given a teacher training programme in Britain, she added. Chatterjee said trainers would be deployed to India and students exchange programmes for MBA aspirants are also in the offing.

Colleges Celebrate International Partnership


Dudley College in England and Reid Kerr College in Scotland have announced a new partnership with Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), India.

IL&FS is one of India's leading infrastructure development and finance companies. Dudley College, England and Reid Kerr College, Scotland are international award winning colleges specialising in vocational and business skills, working nationally and internationally to deliver skills training to internationally benchmarked standards.

The official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed as part of the recent Global Skills Summit in New Delhi and saw Jim McAllister, Head of Corporate, Languages and International Business at Reid Kerr College, Sanjeev Ohri, International Business Development Executive at Dudley College and Doctor Chandrasekar from IL&FS officially seal the partnership.
 
The initiative between Dudley College, IL&FS and Reid Kerr College will bring together a collaborative approach in vocational training and skills development. Jim McAllister explained "With IL&FS India we have a partner of the highest calibre with which to take forward our collaborative ambitions and initiatives. I look forward to a long and rewarding partnership. India, as a whole, has ambitious economic, social and skills targets, and our partnership will further strengthen the skills development and knowledge base."

Sanjeev Ohri said "Dudley College provides a wide array of innovative instructional and student development programs in international education with a primary focus on employer engagement, exchange programmes, e-learning, quality assurance, staff and curriculum development. We believe that this long term strategic partnership between all three organisations will strengthen our relationships and lead to a high quality service that provides education to both the organised and non-organised sectors across India.”

Walsall College in India

Walsall College is one of the largest colleges in the West Midlands, employing 736 staff and with an annual turnover of £35 million and a £65mn state of the art Campus. The College’s learner profile comprises nearly 15,000 students including 14 -19 year olds, higher education (degree level), international, work based learners and over 1000 Apprentices employed with public and private sector employers.

The college delivers education and training in several key sectors Business & Professional, Creative Industries, Digital & Technologies, Health & Public Services and Services to People. The College has a national reputation for ‘vocational academies’ delivered through strong collaboration with major blue-chip organisations such as E.on, Siemens, Francesco, Microsoft, Nike and Roland to name a few.

Working with employers locally, nationally and International to bridge skills gaps in key industry sectors

Walsall College helps businesses and educational institutes internationally innovate and flourish. We have offered learning programmes, skills accreditation and a range of on the job training programmes that meet the needs of Indian companies. Marketing of the India offering has been done through UKIBC and UK India Skills Forum, Walsall College has met with key stakeholders in skills development in India e.g. the NSDC, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). This has enabled Walsall College to develop a clear understanding of skills shortage areas and key industry sectors throughout India.

Walsall College have signed an MOU with several vocational educational institutes and one of the largest suppliers of car components in India and are in discussions with several other employers by developing customised qualifications which are accredited through Accredited Skills for Industry (asfi).  We were one the first colleges in the UK to establish its own awarding organisation. Accredited Skills for Industry (asfi) was created in close partnership with employers, focusing on supporting businesses to develop and accredit training programmes to meet their specific needs. It has been instrumental in addressing skills gaps in newly emerging employment sectors, including Advanced Engineering, Environmental Technologies and Information Technology.  Utilising asfi has enabled Walsall College to develop a range of customised products that meets India’s pricing needs but can be delivered flexibly in the employers premises or in country through Walsall College’s offices in India where all the training is supported through the Colleges’ Virtual Learning Environment.

Organisations in India were particularly impressed that Walsall College recently won the Association of Colleges’ Beacon Status Becta Award for Efficiency through the Effective use of Technology in Further Education and Skills. The Award celebrates the positive impact the use of new technology can have on both students and the workforce in the UK or globally, enabling the College to secure contracts with Employers, Colleges and Universities in over 10 countries.

Investing in India

Walsall College has now opened its own offices in Model Town Jalandhar, Nawanshar and Chandigarh.  This will result in the college running internationally recognised vocational courses with institutes in India and building on successful relationships to offer dual accredited courses ranging from in a number of disciplines.