CII Edexcel partnership to build world class assessors and trainer

New Delhi: Edexcel, UK's largest awarding body for academic and vocational qualifications and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to train and upskill assessors and trainers in the country. This Edexcel qualification delivered as a training program by IndiaCan, the Pearson-Educomp joint venture, and endorsed by CII will aim to create an assessor and trainer pool of global standards to benefit skills development initiatives in India like the Modular Employability Scheme (MES).

The skills development mission in India has become a race against time. The objective of having a 500 million skilled workforce by 2022 has placed huge demands on the assessment and training capabilities in the country. Delivering high quality assessment and training geared towards employment is critical in creating a skilled workforce and quality would be essential in these skills development initiatives. It has become imperative for an advanced qualification like Edexcel's to contribute under India's global perspective.

The qualification which is the outcome of a global research on Effective Education for Employment (EEE) conducted in 25 countries with India as one of the focus countries, is geared to equip assessors and trainers with the most modern practices in their fields. The qualification is based on Edexcel's popular vocational framework and is a BTEC qualification which is recognised globally. Successful completion of the entire qualification would lead to a BTEC Level 4 Professional Certificate in Training & Development.

CII hopes that this qualification will standardise assessment and training practices across the country and bring them on par with international standards. It is also expected to help assessors and trainers enhance their skills and create a larger pool which is an urgent requirement to meet the objectives of skills development. CII hopes through this MOU to set this qualification as a criteria and encourage more subject-matter experts to become assessors and trainers. The delivery will be constantly vetted by the CII to ensure it conforms to the Indian context and is a part of CII's commitment towards the realities of any implementation in India.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the growth of industry in India, partnering industry and government alike through advisory and consultative processes.

CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry led and industry managed organisation, playing a proactive role in India's development process. Founded over 113 years ago, it is India's premier business association, with a direct membership of over 7500 organisations from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 83,000 companies from around 380 national and regional sectoral associations.

With 65 offices in India, 9 overseas in Australia, Austria, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, UK, USA and institutional partnerships with 211 counterpart organisations in 87 countries, CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community.

Assessors and trainers in the country can now look forward to equipping themselves with an international qualification, enhancing their skills and prospects. Certification will be issued separately for Vocational Assessor Qualification (VAQ) and Vocational Trainer Qualification (VTQ) upon completion of 3 units each and the Professional Certificate upon completion of all units. The training will be delivered by IndiaCan, the new Pearson-Educomp joint venture in the area of vocational training.

Speaking on the development Sami Baig, Regional Director, Edexcel said 'We are extremely happy that CII has taken this step forward. It is quite expected given the initiatives of CII across the years as a leading industry body. We have taken this step in conjunction considering its benefits to the development initiatives of the nation.'

I S Gahlaut, Director, Skills Development, HR/IR/AA, CII said "This comes at an opportune time when the independent assessments in the vocational area are being accepted as a norm. This will build capacity and enhance quality"

IndiaCan, the training provider in this project, is a joint venture between Educomp Solutions Ltd., India's largest education company today, and Pearson, the International Education and Information Company. IndiaCan was set up with the primary objective of offering skills training in India. IndiaCan's delivery of VAQ/VTQ will be instructor-led and supported by technology. The courses and content, will use and adapt Pearson's existing educational content making it more relevant to Indian market.

Mr Sharad Talwar, CEO IndiaCan, sounded very pleased to be part of the initiative that will bring such a positive change in the field of Assessment and Training. He commented 'We at IndiaCan are proud to be pioneers of change that will shape the future of assessment and training in the Nation. We plan to train 2000 professionals by year 2011.'

The qualification will be available to assessors and trainers across the country with the start of the first batch. Assessors of the CII will have the first chance to access the qualification but more batches will be planned across the country with prior notification.