The Ministry of Education aims to ensure that at least 50 per cent of school students get training in various skills by 2030 and G20 deliberations will help prepare a framework for formalising skilling in mainstream education, an official said on April 28.

According to School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar, deliberations at the third G20 Education Working Group meeting focused on formalising skill education in schooling system, foundation literacy and numeracy, tech-enabled learning, future of work and research collaborations. The meeting concluded here on Friday.

“We aim that by 2030, at least 50 per cent of school students will be receiving skill education. During the meetings we deliberated how skilling can be formalised in school education. The new education policy also recommended that skill education be introduced in schools from class 6,” Kumar told a press conference.

A conference on deep technology and transforming logistics for coastal economies, a workshop on the future of work and skill architecture, a seminar on building capacities for lifelong learning and an exhibition on the future of work were part of the events held as a precursor to the meeting.

The first meeting of the G20 Education Working Group was held in Chennai earlier this year, followed by the second in Amritsar last month. There will be three supplementary meetings of the education group before it arrives at a consensus in June. The meeting will be held in Pune.

“Ahead of the G20 meeting, Indian stakeholders and delegates from Singapore discussed best practices in skills and education adopted in the two countries and the way forward for preparing a future ready workforce,” Kumar said.

“During the meeting, the delegates carried forward with the discussions on the outcome document. They also emphasised the role learning plays as a key driver of development and enabler for empowerment,” he added.

Earlier in the day, the delegates visited the Konark Sun Temple and explored Odisha’s cultural heritage.

The delegates also visited the exhibition “Future of Work” on the sidelines of the meeting.

A model preschool education centre, vernacular learning based tech solutions, 3D printed models of various temples with virtual reality experience, and cloud gaming were among the technologies and modules on display at the exhibition.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the exhibition at the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT) here on Sunday.

More than 100 exhibitors from India and G2O member countries demonstrated their products at the exhibition spread across 34,000 square feet area.

A unique ‘Future of Work’ experience zone was also set up at the exhibition where job aspirants could get to know how the future of work will evolve and got a preview of the required advanced technical skills.