Odisha Rolling Out Skill Centres in Each District
Odisha is on the path to opening skill training centres in all districts of the state to enhance job readiness and earning potential of youth in various trades. The announcement was made by the Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Dharmagarh where a Pradhan Mantri Kausal Kendra (PMKK) was inaugurated by spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar. The Dharmagarh PMKK spread over 15,000 square feet, has a capacity to impart vocational and skill training to at least 1000 youth every year. The PMKK is scheduled to start operating some time in October 2018.
Telangana State Waqf Board Intends to Train Minority Youth
In a move to train minority youth the Telangana State Waqf Board (TSWB) have asked the central government for permission to set up a skill development centre on the premises of Haj House in Nampally under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) scheme. “We want to utilise the Waqf lands to train the minority youth and generate employment opportunities so that we can support economically deprived sections,” said Shahnawaz Qasim, CEO, TSWB. The TSWB intends to impart training to 100 Muslim boys and girls in skill development courses. Post training in Haj House youth will then proceed to the Skill Development Institute in Bhubaneswar for a certification course for better employment prospects.
Jobs Oriented Education for Employability
A national workshop on “Bharat Marching towards Optimum Employability through Education” was organised by Shri Vishwakarma Skill University on 1st Oct 2018 in association with the National Working Group and IILM University. Inaugurating the workshop Human Resource Development Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar highlighted the need for curriculum revision in educational and training institutes to keep pace with changing industry needs. Dr. Javadekar proposed starting of job oriented bachelor’s programs in ‘Professional’ studies by 2020 to make skills based education more mainstream. Mr. Raj Nehru, Vice Chancellor of Shri Vishwakarma Skill University spoke of jobs moving away from traditional large employers such as agriculture towards services and manufacturing prompted by innovation and industrialisation.
Around 350 academicians and industry experts participated in the workshop to discuss employment creation opportunities through micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs), micro & small village enterprises (MSVEs) and startups. The central theme was the role of skills-based education in closing the gaping gap between demand and supply of a job-ready workforce.
Chief Guest for the valedictory session, Shri Dharmender Pradhan, Union Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) urged educational establishments such as Vishwakarma Skill University to build ‘working while learning’ into study programs in line with success of such models in countries like Germany.
