Swiss apprenticeship model
What do you ask a diplomat from Switzerland? About watches and chocolates, cheese varieties and bank deposits? Of course, plus also, about double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA), and free trade agreement (FTA), as it transpired at the interactive session with Dr Martin Strub, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Switzerland, in the MAC Chidambaram conference hall of the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Chennai.
Remembering a Social Story we recently did with G. P. Chandra Kumar, Chairman and CEO, Skillsonics, where he had spoken of adapting the Swiss apprenticeship model for Indian industries, a question I posed to Dr Strub was on such initiatives his government is engaged in, with the Indian government.Dr Strub was quick to point out that the apprenticeship programme has been adopted by many companies here. Such as what he had visited, a few days ago, a Bangalore-based startup, a medium-sized Swiss company. Underlining that it is a priority to fill the skill gap, Dr Strub was happy to mention that the experience with the apprenticeship initiative has been very positive, and that it is an example that can be copied by others. “We are working with the Indian government to expand this programme, and take it to the next level,” said Dr Strub.
Given our demographics, working on solutions to fill the skill gap promises to be a massive opportunity for startups in India.
