Australia, India strengthen agriculture skills ties

Australia and India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop and strengthen cooperation in skills training in the agriculture sector.

The MoU results from the joint commitment of the Australian and Indian Prime Ministers in October 2012 to build bilateral partnerships between skills councils in key industry areas, including telecommunications, retail, mining, media/entertainment and agriculture.

Welcoming the initiative, the Australian High Commissioner to India, Mr Patrick Suckling, said the MoU was another successful outcome of the Australia India Education Council's (AIEC) work to expand collaboration in skills development between Australia and India.

"This partnership aims to achieve quality industry-led skills training standards in the agriculture sector. With India projected to add 12 to 15 million workers to its labour force every year over the coming decades, employability and productivity gains will be inextricably linked to quality standards," said Suckling.

The MOU was signed between the Agriculture Skills Council of India and AgriFood Skills Australia and will promote cooperation in creating quality occupational, training, assessment, certification, information and stakeholder engagement standards.

Dr. Satender Arya, CEO, Agriculture Skill Council of India and Arthur Blewitt, CEO, AgriFood Skills Australia, signed the formal partnership in the presence of Patrick Suckling, and the CEO of the National Skills Development Corporation, Mr. Dilip Chenoy.