NewsVoir
New Delhi [India], March 21: The Future Right Skills Network (FRSN) celebrated five years of driving systemic change in India's skilling ecosystem, marking a milestone in collaborative action that has shaped policy, transformed Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), and built a future-ready workforce.
Since its inception in 2019, FRSN has emerged as a unique coalition where funding partners (Accenture, Cisco, JPMorganChase, and SAP Labs India) converged to drive a shared vision for systemic change. This collective commitment enabled FRSN to establish strong partnerships with the Directorate General of Training (DGT) and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) from the very beginning. By bringing together government, civil society organizations (CSOs), and industry leaders, FRSN has worked to bridge critical gaps in the skilling landscape.
As the national conversation around demand-driven skilling gains momentum, this five-year journey reflects how strategic partnerships, driven by the ministry support at both central and state levels, have led to tangible shifts in policy and practice. FRSN's efforts align with the government's ambitious initiatives to upgrade ITIs and enhance vocational training. The focus will be on deepening industry engagement to align ITIs with real-world job market demands, elevating trainer development as a cornerstone of skilling, and ensuring policy implementation leads to lasting change.
FRSN's Unique Approach: Collaboration for Systemic Change
FRSN has played a critical role in building a unique ecosystem where policymakers and industry stakeholders collaborate to shape the future of skills development. This approach has enabled a journey towards making it more demand-driven, integrating industry voices to shape curricula and hiring pathways. It has transformed trainer development, equipping educators with future skills to prepare ITI students for evolving job markets. It has also shaped policy, ensuring that government skilling initiatives are rooted in real-world needs and challenges.
Trishaljit Sethi, Director General of Training, emphasized the importance of such partnerships in reshaping India's skilling landscape: "FRSN has been a valuable partner in advancing our vision for a strong, industry-aligned skilling ecosystem. By working closely with state governments, industry leaders, and training institutions, it has helped ensure that ITIs are not just training centers, but true enablers of employment. As we move forward with our vision to make skilling institutions particularly the ITIs more robust and aspirational, such collaborations will be crucial in making skilling more impactful for youth across India."
Kshitija Krishnaswamy, Managing Director, Corporate Citizenship - APAC, Accenture said, "As industries transform in the digital economy, new skills will be needed across all sectors. Developing these skills requires collective effort from policymakers, academia, and the industry. We are proud to mark the five-year milestone of our partnership as a founding member of the Future Right Skills Network, which has been empowering young people at ITIs in India with core vocational skills, digital fluency, and breaking down barriers to employability."
Aakash Sethi, CEO, Quest Alliance, highlighted the evolving role of ITIs and trainer development: "The transformation of ITIs is not just about infrastructure or curriculum upgrades, it is about equipping trainers and students with the skills to thrive in an evolving world of work. FRSN has played a critical role in shaping how trainers are supported and developed, ensuring that they are not just facilitators but enablers of meaningful careers. As we look ahead, the focus must remain on making ITIs more industry-responsive and ensuring that every young person, especially women, has access to relevant, future-ready skills."
What's Next? Strengthening Industry Engagement and ITI Reform
Looking ahead, FRSN will focus on deepening industry partnerships to make ITIs more responsive to market needs and ensure skilling initiatives translate into meaningful employment. With the government's renewed focus on the ITI upgradation scheme, the network is poised to play a supportive role in bridging policy and practice.
Trainer development remains at the heart of this work, ensuring educators are equipped to train the next generation of skilled professionals. As FRSN charts the way forward, it reaffirms its commitment to an inclusive, future-ready skilling ecosystem, one where youth are empowered with the right opportunities to thrive.
The Future Skills Forum 2025 will serve as a catalyst for this next phase, bringing together policymakers, funders, industry leaders, and training institutions to shape the future of skilling in India.
The Future Right Skills Network (FRSN) is a collaborative initiative launched in 2019 by Quest Alliance supported by Accenture, Cisco, JPMorganChase, and SAP Labs India. We work towards a simple yet ambitious goal: to enable one million young people to access quality work opportunities by 2027.
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