The Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce (SICC)
Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Initiative: Bringing the Swiss Dual-Track Vocational System to India
On August 14, 1948, India and Switzerland signed a Treaty of Friendship and Establishment. This was the first such treaty that India signed with another country after independence, leading to special relations between the two countries in many fields. In honour of the 60 year anniversary of this Friendship Treaty, SICC launched the Swiss-Indian Vocational Education and Training initiative (VET) in partnership with the Swiss Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET), Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SVIFET) and The Swiss Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Industries (Swissmem).
The initiative aims to introduce the Swiss dual-track vocational system to India in order to address the country’s shortfall of skilled factory labour. Select industrial training institutes (ITIs) from the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, as well as four Swiss companies, Bobst India, Burckhardt Compressions India, Bühler India and Rieter India, are participating in the pilot project. In this phase, local Indian instructors and trainers are taking courses from Swiss teachers and factory trainers on Swiss approaches to teaching manufacturing theory and practice. The local teachers and trainers will, in turn, adopt these approaches when instructing their students in the classroom and on the factory floor. The project will be ramped up in 2010 and 2011 to include more sectors and companies. The ultimate goal is for the Indian students to graduate with a diploma that will be recognized in both India and Switzerland.

About Swiss- Indian Chamber of Commerce 
SICC founded in 1985, is a bi-national, independent, non-profit association with approximately 350 Swiss and Indian members. It is devoted to growing business between individuals and companies in India and Switzerland.  SICC is widely recognized as a key player in advancing Indo-Swiss economic relationships. As an independent organization, the Chamber co-operates with all public and private institutions that pursue similar goals and its objectives are:
• Enhancing the flow of information on investment- and trade-related issues between India and Switzerland
• Improving bilateral commercial, industrial and technical co-operation between India and Switzerland
• Supporting the establishment of joint ventures and strategic alliances between enterprises of both countries
The SICC Board is constituted by representatives of firms that actively pursue the enhancement of Swiss-Indian economic relations. The Board is supported by an advisory body that helps to strengthen the SICC's network, and functions as a sounding board on a variety of issues that the chamber routinely confronts. SICC has offices in Zurich, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai (Honorary Representative).