AMCHAM participated in a meeting on July 11th in New Delhi held by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship under the Chairmanship of Senior Economic Advisor MSDE to discuss the issues related to skilling requirements under the National Medical Devices Policy 2023. AMCHAM’s Medical Devices Committee was represented by Dr. Vibhav Garg, Director – Health Economics & Government Affairs India HUB & ASEAN, Boston Scientific. Other policy makers and stake holders that participated were from the Department of Pharmaceuticals, MoHFW, CDSCO, CEO of NCVET, CEO of Healthcare Sector Skill Council, CEO of Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council and CEO of Instrumentation Automation Surveillance & Communication Sector Skill Council.

During the meeting, some of these topics discussed included: existing institutions structures that need to be catered to, strategy for human resource development by leveraging available resources for development of qualifications for skilling, reskilling and upskilling, multidisciplinary courses for medical devices in existing institutions, national database of latest manufacturing technologies in the MedTech sector, developing partnerships with academic/industry organizations, necessity for the medical device industry to have an industry ready work force and curating small/short term courses that certify individuals with different skills needed. A new skill set requirement to support the growth of the sector and the importance of identifying the requirements was discussed. Some of the key areas that require skilling that were mentioned included quality testing, regulatory affairs, QMS, clinical trials etc. It was requested that the Healthcare Sector Skill Council would coordinate with industry associations, gather inputs/suggestions and submit a proposal to the NSDC and to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.