Skill Development- A national need
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in one of his recent speeches on the occasion of the World Youth Skill Day, mentioned the importance of skills in the current scenario. “Skill development of the new generation is a national need and is the foundation of Atmanirbhar Bharat as this generation will take our republic from 75 years to 100 years,” he said.
Likewise, he also explained how Skill Development, Upskilling and the progress of society are interlinked. Meanwhile, he also emphasized the importance of skills in the Indian culture. Read more.
Also Read: Bridging the Skill Gap with Apprenticeships in the Automotive Industry
New guidelines for contractual teachers in Kolkata
The Kolkata state government has issued a 10-point guideline for the better functioning of the Vocational Training Centres (VTCs). As per the guideline, “contractual teachers and instructors are not allowed to perform any assignment in any form in other government, semi-government organizations or departments other than those assigned by the administrative authority.”
These new decisions are believed to have been made following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s meeting, which was held in mid-June to ensure international standard “job-oriented skill development training” in VTCs. The Officials from nodal polytechnics are asked to initiate surprise visits at VTCs during working hours and the head of the institutions or representatives have to be present. Read more.
“Skills are the new currency,” Sandip Patel
In the previous month, Arvind Krishna, CEO of, IBM announced a partnership with 30 global organizations, concentrating on enhancing the skills and hence employability of marginalized populations. Among these organizations, 11 are from India and will be taking up IBM’s goal of skilling 500,000 people by the end of 2021 through the company’s SkillsBuild program.
In an email interaction, Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India Private Limited, said “skills are the new currency across businesses”. Read more.