Higher Education Minister R. Bindu has said Kerala has forged ahead in skill development to become among the most employable destinations in the country. In spite of such progress, the State had much to do in nurturing computer skills, numeric reasoning and critical thinking among the youth.
She was speaking while inaugurating the K-Skill campaign, a skills training programme, organised under the aegis of the Additional Skill Acquisition Programme Kerala (ASAP) here on Thursday. The Minister also unveiled the annual training calendar 2022-23 that lists over 100 skill courses, the K-Skill logo and a faculty training programme for college teachers.
Dr. Bindu pointed out that Kerala was recently selected as the third most employable State in the 2022 India Skills Report, published by Wheebox in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and other agencies. The State also ranks third in male employment, fourth in female employment and has the largest number of skilled cities in the country.
The study also highlighted that Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts are set to figure among the most employed Indian cities by the next year, she said.
Despite such achievements, the State continued to face challenges in employment generation. “Forty per cent of the educated youth in Kerala are unemployed, even as the government strives to develop the skills sector. Nearly 40 lakh youth are registered in the employment exchanges in the State. On the other hand, there are about 2,000 vacancies in Technopark (in the capital) alone. That a large section of aspirants lack the necessary skills to undertake such work remains a major crisis for the State,” Dr. Bindu said.
She also highlighted the reluctance shown by students in enrolling for new-age courses such as Python, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, cyber security and business analytics.
Urging the teaching community to keep students abreast of changes in the job market, the Minister stressed the need for universities to simulate industrial practices in classrooms and usher in a system of awarding credit scores those pursuing industry-accredited courses.
Lauding the role played by ASAP Kerala in spearheading skill development, Dr. Bindu credited the State-run company for training over 2.5 lakh students and placing them in various companies in the last year alone. As part of the K-Skill campaign, over a hundred courses will be launched simultaneously in more than 15 centres.
ASAP Kerala chairperson and managing director Usha Titus presided over the function. Digital University of Kerala (DUK) Vice Chancellor Saji Gopinath and Director of Collegiate Education V. Vigneshwari also participated.
Our code of editorial values
Printable version | Mar 10, 2022 7:52:11 pm | https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/skill-training-under-asap-kerala-launched/article65211555.ece