Embassy of India
Tokyo
Press Release on India-Japan Skill Connect Conference
August 4, 2023
Embassy of India in Japan in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) organised “India-Japan Skill Connect Conference” on August 4, 2023 at the Vivekananda Cultural Center Auditorium, Embassy of India in Tokyo.
2. The event witnessed high level Ministerial participation. H.E. Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, H.E. Mr Shunsuke Takei, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr Shogo Azemoto, Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and H.E. Mr Yasuhiro Takami, Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Ministry of Justice addressed the gathering.
3. In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr Sibi George, Ambassador of India to Japan, underlined the ‘’Special Strategic and Global Partnership’’ between India and Japan and called for deepening synergies in the field of skill development and transfer of talented human resources from India to Japan to cater to the demands of the Japanese industries and businesses. In his address H.E. Mr Shunsuke Takei, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Japan mentioned that there was a strong potential in promoting exchanges between India and Japan through ‘’Specified Skilled Worker’’ (SSW) route. H.E. Mr Shogo Azemoto, Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare spoke on the necessity of promoting people-to-people contacts on the strength of increased labour mobility. His Excellency Mr Yasuhiro Takami, Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Ministry of Justice appreciated that India’s highly skilled professionals were contributing significantly to the Japanese economy.
4. In his Keynote address, H.E. Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, underlined India’s Prime Minister Mr Shri Narendra Modi’s vision to make the Indian workforce future-ready and enabled. He expressed his satisfaction on the opening of 9 more sectors under the SSW and called for creating dedicated skill training hubs in India for Japanese industry, which could impart the necessary Japanese industry specific skill-sets, language ability and certification so that it creates a win-win situation for both sides.
5. H.E. Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology, announced the formal launch of ‘India-Japan Skill Connect’ and a “Skill Facilitation Cell at the Embassy of India, Tokyo. In his concluding remarks, Shri Sheetal M Kulkarni, Leader of the CII delegation and Vice President, Blue Star International Limited focused on the attributes of Skill India Mission, which is aligned with the ‘Future of Work’.
6. Two panel discussions focused on topics ‘Japan-India Skill Connect-bolstering bilateral collaboration’ and ‘Mobility Pathways- opportunity, challenges and way head’ respectively, deliberated on how to re-invogorate the sectoral cooperation and the opportunities and challenges underlying them.
7. CII brought together a strong 25-members delegation comprising of officials from the State of Sikkim, representatives from recruiting agencies and companies in the area of skill development and human resources based in India and Japan. The Conference also saw participation from 159 Japan-based companies from sectors such as consulting, IT, HR, manufacturing etc.
8. Indian high skilled workforce numbers have significantly increased in Japan to over 12,500 forming a quarter of total Indian Diaspora. There has also been a growing engagement under the TITP and SSW routes for movement of Indian workforce to the country. It is estimated that there are more than 300 Japanese language training institutes in India.
9. Embassy of India aims to hold regular Skill Development focussed events all across Japan to generate momentum in the areas of India-Japan Skill Connect.
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