Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday said young Indians must equip themselves with skills in line with the evolving times, in order to stay relevant for employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
The minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship said "skills are passport to prosperity and opportunities".
“Along with education, it is necessary to possess a future-relevant skill so that it would be easier to remain competitive in the job market or entrepreneurship fields,” Chandrasekhar said while addressing students and staff members at the Government Polytechnic College in Ramban district.
Stating that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision that opportunities for skilling should be available to one and all, he said the government was now offering 5,000 skills programmes -- both short-term and long-term -- for students and young entrepreneurs to avail.
“The curriculum has been changed and new, futuristic courses added as demands for skills will change in the coming days with the rapidly changing technological environment,” he added.
Reaffirming that the prime minister’s approach to development has been that of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’, Chandrasekhar said under his leadership, "New India" has been thriving well in the post pandemic world as compared to other developed countries, with an aim to achieve the target of five trillion USD economy by 2026.
The minister also visited a skills exhibition organised by the students and staff members of the polytechnic college and was impressed by the innovative displays--ranging from tech, automotive, electronics products to traditional art and craft items.
Later at Ramban, he inaugurated a job fair and interacted with both job seekers and recruiters. Chandrasekhar also distributed offer letters and certificates of completion of training to the eligible candidates.
“Jobs are an important determinant about opportunities available. We will ensure that the next job fair to be held here in the six months will be three times bigger in size with many more companies taking part,” he said, adding “we will request the public sector units to mandatorily absorb the skilled talent locally available”.
The Union minister conducted a review of the Ramban district’s skill development plans about which he was given a detailed presentation by District Development Commissioner Mussarat Islam. Chandrasekhar also discussed with the officials ways to improve the skilling ecosystem with locally available opportunities, an official spokesman said.
(With PTI Inputs)
