NEW DELHI: Brics countries want to bring education and jobs closer together, with a new focus on STEM, vocational training, digital skills and AI, while also trying to identify what skills employers will need in the coming years.The New Delhi Declaration links the entire chain — from basic learning and digital literacy to higher education, technical training and jobs. It calls for cooperation in foundational literacy, digital literacy, and safe and human-centred use of emerging technologies, including AI. It also backs undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and stronger links between technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and industry to “expand job opportunities”.A key part of the plan is to make training respond more closely to changes in the job market. Brics members have committed to studying labour-market trends in digital, green, care and other priority sectors to forecast the skills that will be needed. The declaration also welcomes Brics Connect, a network focused on capacity building, employability and new skills and technologies.The emphasis is not only on university education. The declaration recognises Brics TVET Cooperation Alliance as a platform for sharing information and resources and developing vocational training across member countries. It calls for training programmes to be aligned with changing market needs by building stronger links between TVET institutions and industry.The industrial sector is being brought into this effort too. Brics Centre for Industrial Competencies, set up with UNIDO, is helping manufacturers and small businesses adopt Industry 4.0 and advanced digital production technologies, including AI. Brics Intelligent Manufacturing and Robotics Working Group is also working on talent development.
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The declaration separately calls for greater cooperation in digital skills and capacity building, including proposed capacity-building centres aimed at creating a “future-ready workforce”.For Brics, therefore, the skills challenge is no longer confined to colleges and training centres. The declaration seeks to connect what students learn with what factories, businesses and other employers will need — while using labour-market trends to keep training relevant as technology changes.
