New Delhi: The Government of Assam (GoA) and education services provider Pearson have announced a joint initiative to provide vocational skills training to school students in Assam, the company said in a press release.
This public-private partnership will serve as a platform for the introduction of the national vocational education qualification framework, a national program to integrate skills, training and qualifications in schools.
Under this initiative, Pearson will set up vocational skills centers in 10 selected government schools, initially offering training in streams like retail and computer hardware and IT. The courses will be introduced for students in standard IX in August 2012, before moving into higher classes with a wider portfolio.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to work collaboratively with GoA. We believe that young people in Assam deserve to be fully prepared for the challenges of an incredibly different and dynamic world of work and our common endeavor will be to achieve that objective," said Khozem Merchant, Pearson India in a statement.
The program curriculum will be designed and administered by two Pearson companies: IndiaCan, and Edexcel, the UK based qualification awarding body.
The skills courses will be held in classrooms and learning labs presided over by trainers especially prepared for the programme. The curriculum will incorporate audio-visual aids, and includes lectures by industry experts and visits to factories to familiarize students with real working situations. The skills training sessions will be held after school hours.
