India-Japan skill meet: MoS Jayant Chaudhary calls for innovative funding to accelerate human resource mobility
New Delhi, August 14
The Minister of State for the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Jayant Chaudhary, on Friday urged domestic and international stakeholders to bridge institutional gaps, develop innovative funding pathways, and build seamless procedural equivalence to fulfil the ambitious target of sending 50,000 skilled Indian workers to Japan.
Addressing the gathering at the India-Japan Stakeholder Consultation on Skill Development: Shaping the Next Chapter of Bilateral Human Resource Cooperation, the Minister emphasised that while deep cultural affinity and mutual respect exist between the citizens of both nations, government-to-government mobility channels need to overcome procedural hurdles to match the scale of India's demographic dividend with Japan's workforce needs.
"I won't dwell on the technical aspects of where we want to go and what is the progress made between how we are able to fulfill the demand for skilled young people in Japan and our tremendous scale and reach within India and our demographic dividend. There requires many, many such conversations for us to be successful in this endeavor, in this imperative," he said.
Pointing to the core bottleneck in expanding mobility for skilled workers trained in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics, Chaudhary highlighted that administrative alignment between institutions remains the primary challenge.
"The challenge is for institutions to understand each other. Because they have different rules, procedure, protocol, institutional legacy biases. So that is a greatest challenge that is encumbering our ambition in our new partnership, as we heard our Prime Minister enunciate so clearly, that 50,000 figure is a challenge, it is an ambition. And as the Ambassador pointed out, our numbers through the government-to-government channels have not fulfilled that aspiration. But it is also not a cap," the MoS added.
To overcome these structural barriers, the Minister urged officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), state governments, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), and Japanese industry leaders to formulate sustainable financial mechanisms and establish shared ownership over a realistic execution strategy.
"And this is where we need to come up with innovative models to fund those aspirations within India. We need to work at building equivalence and understanding between our institutions so they can gel together... That great comfort from people-to-people that we already have should be leveraged to build the trust, the visibility, the faith, and the pathway between our two institutions," he stated.
Underlining the necessity of comprehensive language and cultural orientation for Indian candidates going abroad, the Minister noted that educational frameworks must address linguistic subtleties and expectation gaps to ensure smooth workplace integration.
"So there are always gaps. And this is where our educational programs in India need to really do our bit to fill those gaps, to fill those expectation gaps, and for us to better understand each other. This is the challenge for us. People-to-people ho jata hai. Inevitably, the great human endeavor and the indomitable human spirit means that we get along, we learn to live with each other, we learn to love each other over time, as Indian and Japanese people do today," the MoS said.
Drawing warm parallels between the two societies, Chaudhary reflected on shared ethics--comparing India's ethos of hospitality and Sewa with Japan's principle of Omotenashi (selfless service). He highlighted that deep-rootedness in cultural identity is a unique strength common to both societies, which can serve as a firm foundation for economic and developmental partnerships, particularly toward realising the vision of Viksit Bharat.
"I'm hopeful that we will now, from our strategy, come up with a roadmap. But that roadmap is only lines on paper until it is understood by everyone, accepted by everyone, and every stakeholder has ownership over that roadmap," Chaudhary concluded, urging regular institutional consultations to convert bilateral agreements into tangible mobility outcomes.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As someone who works in HR for a Japanese company in India, I can confirm the institutional gaps are real. Our ITI graduates have excellent technical skills, but cultural orientation is often overlooked. The Omotenashi-Sewa parallel is beautiful - there's genuine alignment in values. With proper funding and streamlined processes, this could be a win-win for both nations.
Great initiative but we need transparency! How many workers actually went to Japan in the last 5 years through G2G channels? I know several ITI passouts who paid hefty amounts to agents for similar programs and got stuck. If government is serious about 50,000 target, they must ensure zero-cost migration pathways and protect workers from exploitation. #SkillIndia
The comparison between Sewa and Omotenashi is spot on! Both cultures value selfless service and dignity of labour. But let's be honest - we need to fix our own education system first. ITI infrastructure in rural areas is pathetic. You can't send quality workforce when the training centres lack basic equipment. Invest in our institutions first.
As a young engineering graduate looking for opportunities, this gives me hope! But the Minister should also address salary parity and social security for Indian workers in Japan. We shouldn't become second-class workers. Need clear MoUs on wages, working hours, and insurance. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳🇯🇵
Interesting perspective from India. Having lived in Tokyo for 3 years, I can say Japanese companies genuinely value disciplined, skilled workers. This initiative could transform lives of
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