Tie-up to set up trainer and assessor academies

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has tied up with Singapore Polytechnic with a grant of 0.5 million Singapore dollars from the Temasek Foundation International to establish trainer and assessor academies in India under the Sankalp Project.

The shortage of competent trainers and assessors possess a significant challenge to the government’s aim of skilling 400 million by 2022, through the Skill India Mission. It is estimated that 1.7 lakh more trainers would be required.

Across India, the training of trainers and assessors for Vocational Education and Training (VET) is being conducted by (a) Industrial Training Institutions (ITIs) under Directorate General of Training (DGT) for long-term training programmes and (b) Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) under NSDC for short term training programmes (3 - 12 months or up 600 hours).

There exist common challenges to training trainers and assessors in both these systems. According to a Working Group Report by National Skill Development Agency, in 2016, these challenges have led to the deployment of inadequately qualified trainers and assessors into India’s VET ecosystem.

This has affected the overall quality of training also leading to the reinforcement of the perception against VET, creating a vicious circle. To break this vicious circle, a ready supply of competent trainers and assessors for short term VET training would be created by setting up National Academies for Trainers and Assessors (NATAs) across India. NATAs will be nodal points for the training and continuous development of trainers and assessors for short term training programmes.

All NATAs shall offer the Basic Trainer and Assessor Licensing Programme emphasising knowledge and skill acquisition of trainers and assessors through blended learning, continuous formative assessment and reflective practice. Upon successful completion of the programme, trainers/assessors will receive a jointly issued Trainer/Assessor License Certificate by the concerned SSC and NATA.

In addition to the Basic Trainer and Assessor Licensing Programme, NATAs may offer other local and international training programmes for the continuous development of trainers and assessors. All courses delivered by NATAs will be fee-based, unless otherwise specified.

A robust Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) ensures NATAs consistently maintain a high standard of quality in the delivery of training programmes for trainers and assessors. NATAs shall be assessed 3 times a year against 7 Quality Standards.

NATAs will be assigned a quality score and certificate by the Joint Committee at the end of each year. The type of certificate awarded – 1 , 2 and 3 Star – depends on the quality scoring achieved.

Star ratings of NATAs with participant reviews will be published on NSDC and DGT websites. The compliance of 1 Star ATAs to the quality standards will be reviewed after three months. Failure to demonstrate compliance on all standards will result in immediate de-accreditation of the NATA.

A DGT-NSDC Joint Committee has been constituted by MSDE to review and ensure the effective implementation and continuous improvement of these Guidelines.

The Joint Committee reserves the right to revise this Guideline at any time. All updates shall be displayed on both NSDC and DGT websites. All stakeholders are advised to regularly check these websites for amendments, if any. For further clarification on this Guidelines, contact the Project Management Unit at [email protected].

NATAs will be permitted to decide the fees for the programmes they deliver. The current Takshashila Portal (National Portal for Trainers and Assessors) will be upgraded to encompass various features and functions.