New Delhi: India and Singapore agree to create opportunities for lifelong learning, building a future-ready workforce, during Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's visit to the latter nation, the Ministry of Education said.

Pradhan, who is on a three-day visit to Singapore, met Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday on strengthening the existing cooperation between India and Singapore with a focus on deepening engagements in skill development.

"Pleasure meeting DPM & Minister for Finance, Singapore, @LawrenceWongST. Fruitful discussions on strengthening the existing cooperation between India and Singapore and deepening engagements in skill development as well as technical and vocational education," Union Minister tweeted.

He further added, "The emerging future is a world of unlimited opportunities. Both DPM @LawrenceWongST and I agreed to work together for mutual benefit, create opportunities for lifelong learning, build a future-ready workforce and also to make knowledge & skill development a key pillar of our strategic partnership."

"During the meeting it was agreed to work together, aiming to create opportunities for lifelong learning, building a future-ready workforce, and making knowledge & skill development a key pillar of strategic partnership" Ministry said.

During the meeting, Pradhan said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Government launched the National Education Policy (NEP) in 2020. NEP 2020 is specifically focussing on providing early exposure to vocational education in middle schools, ensuring the market relevance of training as well as building the capacity of our institutions to provide technical and vocational education.

He further informed the Government is also working towards integrating the skills qualifications framework with the higher education qualification framework and investing in developing short-term and long-term training programs to provide skilling, re-skilling and upskilling opportunities. The Minister stressed learning from the best practices of Singapore, collaborating and customizing it to meet Indian needs.

Dharmendra Pradhan had an insightful discussion with Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong. The Ministers had fruitful conversations on strengthening our skill development and vocational training linkages through all mechanisms for creating a seamless architecture for skilling and lifelong learning. Building on the outcomes of the G20 Future of Work workshop in Bhubaneswar, they also discussed ways in which India can leverage the expertise and knowledge of Singapore for addressing common challenges and transforming the Indian skills ecosystem.

Pradhan had the opportunity to have a greater overview of the best practices and models being followed in Singapore for the training of the workforce. Both the Ministers agreed to advance mutual priorities in skills, create new opportunities for lifelong learning and collaborate together for the benefit of our countries as well as other emerging economies.

Later in the day, Dharmendra Pradhan visited Spectra Secondary School. He interacted with students and teachers to know more about the teaching-learning environment, and pedagogy, among others.

The Minister was happy to know that the school prioritises skills-based education and also focuses on encouraging learning at a pace suitable for every learner to prepare them for future workplaces, the Ministry said.