The National Institute for
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), under the Ministry
of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), is conducting a 12-day
International Training Programme on “Strengthening the Public–Private
Partnership Model in the South Sudan TVET Ecosystem” from 02 to 12 December
2025.
The programme is organised under
the sponsorship of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) through the Indian
Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) initiative, in collaboration with
UNESCO. The programme has brought together 28 participants from South Sudan,
including senior officials from the Ministries of General Education and
Instruction, Labour, Youth and Sports, and Higher Education, Science and
Technology, along with representatives from the private sector. High-level
representatives are expected to join later this week including 3 ministers from
the republic of South Sudan.
The programme aims to strengthen
South Sudan’s institutional capacities in the areas of TVET governance,
public–private partnership frameworks, entrepreneurship development, and
industry-integrated skilling models. It also seeks to provide the delegation
with deep insights into India’s whole-of-government skilling architecture,
including MSDE’s flagship schemes, standards-setting processes, quality
assurance mechanisms, and digital skilling innovations.
As part of the programme, the
South Sudan delegation today visited Kaushal Bhawan, New Delhi, today and
interacted with Ms. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Skill
Development & Entrepreneurship.
Welcoming the delegation, the
Secretary highlighted India’s comprehensive skilling architecture anchored by
MSDE, which brings together institutions such as DGT, NCVET, NSDC, Sector Skill
Councils, NIESBUD, IIE, JSSs and RDSDEs through a unified and coordinated
approach. She emphasised the centrality of public–private partnerships, India’s
efforts to integrate entrepreneurship into TVET outcomes, and the growing scope
for bilateral cooperation in areas such as agriculture-based livelihoods,
construction skills, women-centric skilling, digital skilling, and
community-based training models.
The Secretary underlined that
India attaches great value to its developmental partnership with South Sudan
and expressed confidence that this programme will contribute meaningfully to
the strengthening of South Sudan’s national skilling ecosystem.
During the visit, the delegates
participated in a series of thematic sessions led by MSDE’s key institutions.
The sessions covered Overview of MSDE’s Schemes and Initiatives, Governance
& Quality Assurance Frameworks for Industry-Aligned Skilling, Long-term
Vocational Training in India, and Digital Skilling & Emerging Technology
Initiatives.
These sessions provided the
delegation with a comprehensive understanding of India’s standards-driven,
market-responsive, and digitally enabled skilling ecosystem.
Ms. Archana Mayaram, Economic
Adviser, MSDE; Ms. Hena Usman, Joint Secretary, MSDE; Dr. Poonam Sinha,
Director General, NIESBUD; Shri Pritam Dutta, Director, MSDE; Dr. Shivani Dey,
Director, NIESBUD; Col. Vikram Singh Bhati, Director, NCVET; Shri Himanshu
Gunawat, Deputy Secretary, MSDE, and Mr. Jian Xi Teng from UNESCO were present
on the occasion.
Over the 12-day duration, the
participants will be exposed to India’s approaches to qualification
standard-setting, industry-led curriculum design, entrepreneurship promotion,
digital learning systems, RPL frameworks, women-centric skilling initiatives,
and sector-based PPP models. Field visits, institutional interactions, and
experience-sharing sessions with ministries, Sector Skill Councils, premier
training institutions, and industry bodies will form an integral part of the
programme.
The initiative reinforces India’s
commitment to capacity building, knowledge exchange, and fostering long-term
cooperation with partner nations under the ITEC framework.