Continuing with the heightened emphasis of infusing pride and purpose in skills and vocational education, the union ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) organized a grand joint convocation ceremony for graduating trainees from ITIs/NSTI, PMKVY & Special Projects, NIESBUD & IIE, and Jan Shikshan Sansthan, and Apprentices of Skill India International on October in a hybrid mode with the main event in Delhi. In all, 10 lakh 60000 trainees across the country received their certificates.
“The vision of the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh is to harness the blend of school-based and work-based learning to nurture talent and enable students to showcase their skills to the world. These students have gained skill training across different job roles such as assistant computer operator, UI/UX developer, data scientist, social media strategist, beauty care assistant, mine surveyor, domestic care, etc.,” said the ministry in a statement.
The Directorate General of Training (DGT) exams for the Academic session 2022-23 (1-year trades) and 2021-23 (2-year trades) under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) were held in ITIs during July 2023 and the result was declared in August 2023. About 16 Lakh students appeared for the final examination out of which about 14 Lakh passed. The pass percentage is 88.07%. Similarly, for the Crafts Instructor Training Scheme (CITS) being implemented in the NSTIs and IToTs across the country, 8621 appeared for the final examination and 7933 passed. The pass percentage for the same was 92.02%.
The highlight of this year’s was Prime Minister Narendra Modi yet again coming strongly to back skilling movement in the country and addressed the convocation virtually saying this festival of skill development is unique in itself and today’s event of joint convocation of skill development institutions across the country is a very commendable initiative. He said that Kaushal Dikshant Samaroh reflects the priorities of today’s India. Acknowledging the presence of thousands of youth connected with this event through technology, the Prime Minister conveyed his best wishes to all the youth.
In a passionate and well-articulated speech, Prime Minister said that India is preparing its youth to take advantage of new opportunities through skilling and education. He underlined that India is investing more in the skills of its youth than ever before and gave the example of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana which has strengthened the youth at the ground level. Under this scheme, the Prime Minister informed that about 1.5 crore youth have been trained so far. He further added that new skill centers are also being established near industrial clusters, which will enable the industry to share its requirements with skill development institutes, thereby developing the necessary skill sets among the youth for better employment opportunities.
Highlighting the importance of skilling, upskilling and re-skilling, the Prime Minister noted the rapidly changing demands and nature of jobs and emphasized upgrading the skills accordingly. Therefore, the Prime Minister said, it is very important for industry, research and skill development institutions to be in tune with the present times. Noting the improved focus on skills, the Prime Minister informed that about 5 thousand new ITIs have been set up in the country in the last 9 years adding more than 4 lakh new ITI seats. He also mentioned that institutes are being upgraded as model ITIs with the objective of providing efficient and high-quality training along with best practices.
“The scope of skill development is continuously increasing in India. We are not limited to just mechanics, engineers, technology, or any other service”, the Prime Minister said as he mentioned that women’s self-help groups are being prepared for drone technology. Stressing the importance of Vishwakarmas in our everyday life, Shri Modi mentioned PM Vishwakarma Yojana which enables the Vishwakarmas to link their traditional skills with modern technology and tools.
The Prime Minister also mentioned India making new records in goods exports, mobile exports, electronic exports, services exports, defence exports and manufacturing, and at the same time creating a large number of new opportunities for youth in many sectors such as space, startups, drones, animation, electric vehicles, semiconductors, etc.
“Today, the whole world is of the belief that this century is going to be India’s century”, the Prime Minister said as he credited the young population of India for this.
Union Education and Skills Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in his address to the convocation said NEP 2020 has formalized skill training by introducing it to the education system from Class VI onwards. NEP emphasises on integration of schooling and skilling, he highlighted. The teaching-learning material for classes III, IV, V, VI, IX and XI will also be available by the next academic year, he added.
He also mentioned how emerging and applied areas such as semiconductor will be integrated into the school curriculum and efforts are being made to create new opportunities and meet the skilling needs of the diverse and talented Yuva Shakti. He highlighted that, as announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 15th August 2023, 15000 women will be receiving drones for use in precision and pointed agriculture.
With the transformative power of skilling, India is going to be the leader in the supply chain of global skilled human resource requirements, the minister mentioned. He said nearly 4 crore youth have already registered to the Skill India Digital Portal launched recently. More courses will be launched aiming at skilling the youth of the country by NCVT, UGC, AICTE, Delhi University, and others, he added.
MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar congratulated the recipients of the certificates and marked it be one of the most inspiring and energizing days. He said that acquiring these skills will be the ‘Passport to prosperity’ for our youth. Among all the programs by the Government of India, skilling holds the potential to enable our vast population of Young Indians to create a stronger and better future for themselves, unlike any other time in the history of independent India, he added.
