German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) (refer www.gtz.de.) has been in India since more than 40 years and has supported various projects/programmes of the Indian Government through Technical Cooperation. With Ministry of Labour and Employment, GTZ is presently cooperating with Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGE&T) on a project called Restructuring and Strengthening the National Vocational Training System with emphasis on the Informal Sector. The project period is from Jan. 2004 – December 2007, and the focus is on successful pilots in the area of skills training for the informal sector. Working over the last three years, the project has made certain experiences in the Skills development interventions in the Informal Sector.

Working with the potential partners who are identified in consultation and approval from the Ministry of Labour the project envisages fulfilling the following objectives:

1. adopting and applying new and innovative methods and processes learned through the development of pilot training offers suited to school leavers, drop outs, needy and unemployed men and women, illiterates, workers in need for upgrading skills, persons with low educational and social economic background.

2. recognizing the need for the informal sector by providing conducive environment for the promotion and replication of successful models by all the stake holders, which include relevant ministries and institutions at central and state level, international organizations, NGOs, Industries, associations and other training providers.

3. accepting the need for skill assessment and certification system for those who acquire their skills outside the formal system of training.

Don Bosco Organization has been one of the implementing partners since January 2004. The focus of this technical cooperation is on providing support measures to establish a diversified, decentralized and demand-oriented system for promoting livelihood options and skills through non-formal training programmes for sustainable (self) employment. These measures include:

• building capacity of institution management and staff for curriculum development and revision and diversification of training offers
• building capacity of staff for training delivery and preparation of training material
• establishing internal monitoring system in the institution