Why AI Belongs in Every Skills Classroom: Training TVET Educators for a Smarter Future

A two-day hands-on training held from 22 to 24 June 2025 introduced 29 teacher educators and vocational trainers from the Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE) and the Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhopal, to foundational AI concepts, digital pedagogy, and tools like Microsoft Learn that can be applied directly in classroom and lab settings.

In Food Technology, Dairy Technology, and Food Packaging, AI and digital tools can significantly enrich school education and vocational training. I plan to use AI-powered virtual labs and simulations to help students understand key processes like pasteurization, homogenization, fermentation, and packaging, especially where access to real equipment is limited. - Dr. Rakesh Kumar RamanAssistant Professor at PSSCIVE

Delivered by Tablet Academy with support from Microsoft and KPMG, the sessions explored how AI can support lesson planning, interactive simulations, digital assessments, and more engaging, student-centered learning experiences.

One exciting moment during the workshop was the hands-on session by Mr. Ross Hunter... He used easy examples like Autodraw and Teachable Machine to explain how Artificial Neural Networks work. It was amazing to see how quickly the computer learned from just a few examples. We didn’t even need to write any code! - Sandeep Kumar RatnereTeacher in Electrical Work Education, Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhopal

This training was part of a broader effort led by UNESCO through its Global Skills Academy (GSA), a flagship initiative that aims to equip 10 million learners worldwide with digital, entrepreneurial and job-ready skills by 2029.

For India to benefit from its demographic dividend, vocational education and skills development offers a pathway to dignified, meaningful employment opportunities. Digital and AI skills are one of the keys to more relevant, effective and efficient teaching practices that help educators and trainers from PSSCIVE and RIE better prepare their learners in the future. That is why this multi-stakeholder partnership between PSSCIVE, RIE, UNESCO, Tablet Academy, supported by Microsoft and KPMG, is so important. - Jian Xi TengProgramme Specialist, UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia