Britain should catch up with India in the skills race: Brown

LONDON: Impressed by the achievements of India and China in the global skill race, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday that Britain will have to catch up with the Asian giants in human resource development so that the country is not left behind.

He also unveiled an ambitious plan to bring about a three-fold increase in the apprenticeships in the country in the next decade.

Reflecting on his recent visit to New Delhi and Beijing, Brown said "A generation ago, a British prime minister had to worry about the global arms race. Today a British Prime Minister has to worry about the global skills race - because the nation that shows it can bring out the best in all its people will be the great success story of the coming decades."

The British Prime Minister said he was highly impressed with the number of engineers and others graduates emerging out of colleges and universities in India every year and it was really a "wake up call."

"It is time for a wake-up call for young people, employees and employers - that we now summon ourselves to a new national effort and mobilisation to win the new skills race," he said addressing a conference of business leaders here.

Brown appealed to employers, both in the public services as well as in companies to offer the training courses to the youth.

He said at present one in 15 youngsters is on an apprenticeship and "I want to see one in five young people on apprenticeships within ten years, in a push to win the global skills race."