New Delhi | India should introduce a Global Skills Passport that provides a digitally verifiable record of an individual’s qualifications, technical competencies, certifications, work experience and language proficiency, proposed Dr. Suresh Kumar Madhusudhanan, Chairman & Managing Director, Seagull International Group, while speaking at the 17th FICCI Global Skills Summit 2026 in New Delhi.

“Indian talent should be able to carry its skills across borders with credibility and recognition. A Global Skills Passport can become a trusted bridge between our skilled workforce and international employers,” Dr. Suresh Kumar said.

Speaking as a panellist in the session “Intelligent Pathways for Global Talent and Mobility,” he said India has a significant opportunity to address growing workforce shortages across the world. However, India must move beyond the traditional concept of manpower export and develop a structured ecosystem for skilled, certified, ethical and sustainable global talent mobility.

He stressed the need for internationally benchmarked skill assessments and mutual recognition of qualifications, enabling Indian workers to access opportunities abroad without repeatedly having to prove skills and competencies they have already acquired.

Dr. Suresh Kumar called for stronger country-wise and sector-wise mapping of international workforce requirements, with training programmes aligned to actual employer demand. He pointed out that global shortages are emerging not only in highly qualified professions but also across sectors such as construction, engineering, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, logistics, oil & gas and skilled technical trades.

He also suggested that international employers should be involved from the curriculum-design and training stages, ensuring that candidates are prepared according to actual workplace requirements and destination-country standards.

“We should move from training first and finding jobs later to identifying global demand first and training specifically for those opportunities,” he said.

As Indian talent increasingly explores opportunities beyond traditional markets and moves towards Europe, Japan, Russia and other emerging destinations, technical competence alone will not be sufficient, he observed.

Dr. Suresh Kumar emphasised the need to integrate foreign-language training, cultural orientation, workplace communication, safety standards and awareness of destination-country regulations into international skilling programmes.

Addressing the challenges of illegal recruitment and irregular migration, Dr. Suresh Kumar advocated stronger coordination among the Government of India, Indian Missions abroad, skill-development institutions, responsible recruitment agencies and international employers.

Transparent and regulated mobility pathways, he said, would protect workers from exploitation while strengthening India’s reputation as a reliable and responsible source of skilled global talent.

He proposed the development of structured Global Talent Corridors, integrating:

Global Demand → Skilling → Certification → Skills Passport → Language & Cultural Training → Employer Selection → Ethical Recruitment → International Placement

Dr. Suresh Kumar observed that ageing populations and workforce shortages in several developed economies present India with an unprecedented demographic opportunity.

“Having one of the world’s largest young populations alone will not make India the global talent capital. Our people must be skilled, internationally certified, digitally verifiable and mobility-ready.”

He called for closer collaboration among the Government, Indian Missions, industry, training institutions, responsible recruitment agencies and international employers to build an integrated global talent mobility ecosystem.

“India should aspire not merely to supply manpower, but to become the world’s most trusted talent partner. A Global Skills Passport can be an important step towards making Indian skills recognised, respected and portable across borders.”

Dr. Suresh Kumar also proposed a 5P Framework for Global Talent Mobility as a structured approach to preparing and protecting India’s internationally mobile workforce:

Predict – Identify future global workforce demand and emerging opportunities.

Prepare – Train candidates according to destination-country and employer standards.

Passport – Create portable, digitally verifiable and internationally recognised skill credentials.

Place – Connect qualified talent with verified international employers through ethical and responsible recruitment.

Protect – Safeguard workers through transparent contracts, responsible recruitment practices and effective government cooperation.

The session featured a keynote address by Niranjan Kumar Sudhanshu, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, and was moderated by Arnab Bhattacharya, CEO, GATI Foundation.

Dr. Suresh Kumar thanked FICCI and FICCI Skills for providing a timely platform that brought together policymakers, industry leaders and the skilling ecosystem to deliberate on the future of India’s global workforce mobility.