By Avner Pariat
If Meghalaya wants to take a real leap into the future – into a space where livelihoods are secure, youth are skilled and employed, and local industries thrive. – the State must seriously consider leveraging international expertise. One of the most promising and cost-effective ways to do that is through the Senior Expert Service (SES), a programme of the German Government that sends retired industry experts and professionals to train people across the world. Think of it as bringing in decades of global know-how into our own classrooms, our farms, our small businesses, or our government training centres. And the best part? It is affordable (we need to pay only for the stay, food and – if required – travel of the experts), it is customisable, and built for places exactly like ours.
What is SES?
SES is run by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. It provides highly experienced volunteer experts – former CEOs, master craftsmen, engineers, healthcare professionals, and more – to developing economies so that local people can learn, upskill, and compete. They come not to take over but to train, mentor, and pass on world-class skills, often at very little cost to the host. Now imagine this applied to Meghalaya’s mushroom growers, ginger processors, bamboo artisans, welders, electricians, tour guides, or healthcare workers. Imagine one SES expert guiding a group of our people to build a better fermentation chamber for fruit wine, or showing how to wire a building safely using international electrical standards. This is the kind of revolution Meghalaya needs.
Meghalaya is at a very interesting crossroads. On one hand, we have no dearth of natural resources – from high-value crops like turmeric to renewable bamboo – and a young population ready to work. On the other hand, global trends – like the demand for clean energy, sustainable tourism, organic foods, and trained health workers – are opening up new market opportunities. But skills are the bridge that our youth need desperately.
Right now, many of our training centres are trying their best but often lack experienced trainers or modern techniques. There’s a clear gap in quality and experience. SES can fill this gap beautifully. Take the example of mushroom cultivation. Meghalaya’s climate is perfect for it, and farmers are already trying. But SES can introduce best practices from Europe: how to increase yield, how to store longer, how to sell in higher-value packaging. The same goes for spice processing – why settle for raw ginger exports when SES experts can teach us to optimise the processes we use to make spice pastes, powders, or essential oils. Another example: in the piggery and butchery sector, SES can bring expertise in hygiene, feed management, and meat packaging that meets international food safety standards. This can open up interstate and even export markets. For the booming construction sector, imagine what a welding technician or rural mason can become with advanced German training – faster, safer, and more efficient workers who can command higher pay.
Germans are known all over the world for their dedication to high standards of quality control, finish and professionalism. With their help, Meghalaya’s artisans, workers and labourers can shift from small, scattered individuals just making ends meet to providers of premium services and products!
The potential of SES is huge, but the key to success is coordination and alignment. It’s not enough for a training centre or an NGO to bring in one expert. We need departments -like Labour & Employment, Agriculture, Horticulture, Commerce & Industries, Tourism, and Health & Family Welfare – to identify priority skills and clusters, then invite SES experts accordingly. The entire process is easy and accessible online which anyone can do. We often wonder about the sudden (seemingly inexplicable) rise of China but did you know that since 1983 (the year SES was formed) they have availed 6,663 trainings (as of 2023). India sadly has availed just 1,173 trainings during the same time period.
In this regard, the state government should empower all District Skill Committees and local ITIs to submit SES requests. Each visit can be tailored: a two-week bakery training in Sohra, a month-long mushroom workshop in Ri Bhoi, or a solar lighting installation bootcamp in South Garo Hills. The idea is to embed these experts directly into existing institutions and push upskilling from within.
Other Indian states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala have already used SES to train in leather processing, fish farming, and hospital management. Countries like Nepal and Ghana have used SES to upgrade vocational centres and even start new export-oriented businesses. The formula works – because it’s built on long-term mentoring and local relevance. SES doesn’t drop in and leave. They build relationships, revisit, and follow up. When SES trains 20 youth in modern construction methods and five of them open their own companies or seek contracts in other states, the ripple effect is assured and big. They employ others, inspire younger peers, and bring back pride to skilled trades. With sectors like healthcare, the benefits are both local and global. SES can help Meghalaya’s general duty assistants and home health aides reach the standard required for working in Germany or other countries that face healthcare worker shortages. That means long-term remittances and formal employment pipelines for the state.
Perhaps most importantly, SES respects local knowledge. They don’t impose their methods but co-create with communities. That’s crucial for states like Meghalaya, where culture, land, and labour have deep meaning. With the right translation and facilitation, SES experts become like master guides – not unlike our own storied and venerated elders – who pass on knowledge and knowhow with care and integrity.
Meghalaya Government departments can make effective use of the Senior Expert Service (SES) to upgrade skills, introduce global best practices, and build technical capacity in ways that are cost-efficient and impactful. The Tourism Department could use SES experts to train local guides, food vendors, and homestay operators in international hospitality standards, enhancing tourist experiences and boosting rural incomes. The Community & Rural Development (C&RD) Department might bring in SES specialists to support rural livelihoods through advanced training in bamboo crafts, briquette making, or mushroom cultivation, helping self-help groups and village enterprises scale up and access new markets. In the Health Department, SES can provide expert-led training for nurses, general duty assistants, and pharmacy aides – especially important as Germany and other countries open their doors to Indian healthcare workers. The Social Welfare Department can collaborate with SES to support upskilling for persons with disabilities and women in trades such as tailoring, food processing, and beauty therapy. Through such partnerships, government departments can deliver high-quality, hands-on training with international know-how -positioning Meghalaya to grow into a more modern, skilled, and inclusive economy without incurring heavy consultancy costs.
The government’s role should be to broker these relationships, provide space and basic logistics, and let the process unfold in real time. We don’t need 100 SES visits in the first year. Even 10 carefully chosen engagements in profitable skills can build momentum and community confidence. If we want Meghalaya to be a modern economy, we must think beyond subsidies and schemes. We must think about investing in people, upskilling clusters, and creating rural value chains that are resilient and competitive. SES is the perfect vehicle to start this journey – offering the best of European training with a deep respect for grassroots realities. I implore every single official of the Government to not waste this opportunity. With the right approach, a bit of coordination, and clear prioritisation, SES could become one of the most impactful partnerships Meghalaya has ever built.
To learn more, visit https://ses-bonn.de/en/home