Bhubaneswar hosts IndiaSkills Regional Competitions 2018

Bhubaneswar: Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) along with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) on Sunday announced the commencement of IndiaSkills Regional Competitions (Eastern Chapter) 2018 in Bhubaneswar.

The event also marked the 3rd-anniversary celebration of Skill India Mission, on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day.

India Skills Regional East will showcase 225+ competitors from 22 states competing across 27 skills ranging from Mobile Robotics, Automobile Technology, Cooking, Bricklaying, CNC Milling, and Web Design among others.

The winners from these competitions will compete at the national competition, where they would compete with winners from other regional competitions to win a chance of representing India at WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan, Russia.

Inaugurating the event, Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “It is imperative that the government and the private sector work hand in hand to ensure a successful skilled ecosystem. We are also partnering with countries like Japan, Germany, UAE to ensure global opportunities of training and employment for India’s youth,” said Pradhan.

“We need to ensure convergence at every step to ensure that we engage our youth meaningfully today if we wish to see the New India of our dreams.”

The Minister also mentioned that out of the 115 aspirational districts identified, 10 districts are in Odisha which has been identified will be given put special focus with regard to skill development.

“Skills is not a new concept to our country. It has been recognized for ages. The recently concluded Ratha Yatra processions, in Puri is in itself reflective of a successful skill ecosystem which ensures that year after year, the huge wheeled wooden chariot is built, painted and carved upon with beautiful designs on which the Yatra takes place. This is one small example of the work of skilled professionals. Similarly, in today’s age and technology lead times, we are identifying several new job roles today which are relevant to the market,” said the Minister.

Dr K P Krishnan, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship secretary said, “It is our double good fortune that we could combine the IndiaSkills Regional Competition – Eastern Chapter 2018 and the celebrations of World Youth Skill Day. We also complete 3 years of Skill India Mission today. Under the Skill India Mission we are able to annually skill/reskill/Upskill close to 1 crore youth in the country just under central government programs, which is also being positively supplemented by State and Industry efforts towards equipping the youth with the market relevant skill sets.’

“One of our bigger achievements has been the aspirational value that we have been able to bring to skills along with scale and standards. This skill revolution needs to be a sprint than a marathon race – one of the most effective programme in the shortest timeline. We are not only skilling people but also creating progression pathways for our youth within the education system and across sectors, by ensuring academic equivalence,” he added.