52 / Destination Kerala l March 2016

Inaugurating the Summit, Governor P Sathasivam called for interaction among stakeholders to devise meaningful skill development techniques

K E R A L A S H O W S T H E WAY I N S K I L L D E V E L O P M E N T

Introducing a new model in skilling, Kerala Department of Labour and Skills hosted Nypunyam International Skill

Summit and Skill Fiesta in Thiruva-nanthapuram recently, in a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.

The three-day event was jointly organised by the Directorate of Employment and Training (DET) and Kerala Academy of Skills Excel-

lence (KASE) in association with the Union Ministry of Skill De-velopment and Entrepreneurship, National Skill Development Corpo-ration, WorldSkills India and Skill India. Inaugurating the Summit, Kerala Governor Justice P Sathasiv-am pitched for an active interaction among diverse stakeholders such as the State Government, industry, academia, private training provid-

ers, certification bodies and trade associations to formulate meaning-ful skill development methodologies and practices.

The Governor congratulated the Department of Labour and Skills for raising the status of vocational education and training in Kerala through the unique initiative. “This has corrected the age-old popular perception of vocational training as inferior. It would help create a new generation of work force that is industry-responsive and globally employable, thereby making the

DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR AND SKILLSGOVERNMENT OF KERALA n turn to 56

INTERNATIONAL SKILL SUMMIT AND SKILL FIESTA

FEBRUARY 5 - 7, 2016THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA

NYPUNYAM

GOVERNOR JUSTICE P SATHASIVAM INAUGURATING NYPUNYAM INTERNATIONAL SKILL SUMMIT AS KERALA LABOUR AND SKILLS MINISTER SHIBU BABY JOHN, LABOUR AND SKILLS DEPARTMENT ADDL. CHIEF SECRETARY TOM JOSE IAS AND UNION MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOINT SECRETARY RAJESH AGARWAL IAS LOOK ON

March 2016 l Destination Kerala / 53

Kerala has set an example for the whole of the

country to follow in terms of skilling. We should now

look at making the State the destination for upscaling of

skills for educated youthSHIBU BABY JOHN

MINISTER FOR LABOUR AND SKILLS

We are committed to raising the status of vocational training. By bringing skills on par with global standards, we can help the youth improve their competency and quality of lifeTOM JOSE IAS, ADDL. CHIEF SECRETARY, DEPT. OF LABOUR AND SKILLS

Urging the Kerala youth not to look for visas for leading a dignified life, Kerala Chief

Minister Oommen Chandy said that the State Government is commit-ted to create a scenario wherein the skilled youth of Kerala would be able to work in the State itself.

“It is a proven fact that the youth of Kerala are talented. Unfortu-nately, the State has been lacking sufficient avenues for the youth to hone their skills. The skill fiesta is one such initiative to support the talented youth to showcase their vocational skills,” Chandy said, inaugurating the Nypunyam Skill Fiesta 2016 in Thiruvananthapuram recently. Minister for Labour and Skills Shibu Baby John, who presid-ed over the function, said the State is more inclined towards white-collar jobs and this needs to change. “Kerala, which is known as the Skill Capital of India, should shun the negative attitude towards blue-collar jobs,” he said.

Pointing out that the roadmap for skilling is now ready, Minister Shibu Baby John said: “There are a couple of obstacles that we now need to remove from our path. It is a fact that we do not understand the concept of dignity of labour. Parents are not sure as to how to determine the aptitude of their child. Several social stigmas come in the way when a future career is thought about. We attach a lot of importance to other factors.”

In the prevailing system people

live in an unrealistic world, the Minister said wondering how an un-employed engineer was better than an employed plumber! “We need to change our mindset and only then skill development will become meaningful,” the Minister added. Another problem Kerala is facing is the industry lamenting shortage of skilled workforce. “However, the industry is not doing much to create a skilled workforce. The industry needs to hand-hold talents and help develop skills in youth,” he said. Actress Manju Warrier, who is the brand ambassador of Nypunyam, inaugurated the Skill Fiesta Exhibi-tion. Meghalaya Municipal Ad-ministration and Labour Minister Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh, Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson IAS, Department of Labour and Skills Additional Chief Secretary Tom Jose IAS, Director of Employment and Training K Biju IAS, KASE MD Rahul R IRS and IIM Ahmedabad Chief of Marketing Abraham Koshy also spoke.

GOVT COMMITTED TO HELP SKILLED YOUTH REMAIN IN STATE: CM CHANDY

CHIEF MINISTER OOMMEN CHANDY FLAGGING OFF THE MARCH PAST OF CONTESTANTS AT THE INAUGURATION OF NYPUNYAM SKILL FIESTA 2016

LABOUR AND SKILLS MINISTER SHIBU BABY JOHN, KASE MD RAHUL R IRS AND ACTRESS MANJU WARRIER AT THE NYPUNYAM SKILL FIESTA 2016 PAVILION

54 / Destination Kerala l March 2016

WINNERS OF SKILL FIESTA 2016

SARAN S(Bakery & Confectionery)24-year-old Saran is a native

of Thuravoor in Alappuzha district. He has completed

B.Sc. in Hotel Management & Catering Science from SNGM

Arts and Science College. His quest for a plum job

has now materialised as he received a job offer from the Taj Group of Hotels at the

event.

BASIL PAUL(AutoCAD)

A native of Vadattupara near Kothamangalam in

Ernakulam district, 23-year-old Basil is a computer

teacher at Muvattupuzha. He studied Draftsman

Civil at Government ITI, Kalamassery and his

ambition is to become a well-known 3D visualizer.

FARIS RAHMAN CM (Automobile)

Hailing from Manjeri in Malap-puram district, Faris, 23, is a Mechanical Engineering student at Perinthalmanna

Polytechnic. He is also working at a workshop in Manjeri. His ambition to become a reputed

professional mechanic has now materialised with him

receiving an offer from Nippon Toyota.

VIPIN CHANDRAN B S(Carpentry)

Vipin, 23, a native of Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram

district, studied Carpentry at Attingal ITI. He is now working

as a trainee with Cochin Shipyard Ltd. He received an offer from VKL Group of Companies, Bahrain at the

event fufilling his ambition to land a worthy job.

SKILL ING, ALLIED ISSUES DISCUSSED

The two-day Nypunyam International Skill Sum-mit deliberated on the need

to bring about a balance between education and skill development at the academic level and also between academics and skilling at the school and college-levels. Discussions were held on topics such as integration of skill with education, international best practices in skill development, skill initiatives in India, industry perspective on skilling, way forward for Kerala in skill development and perspectives of State partners. High-lighting the issue of unemployment among educated youth, experts spoke about how education should address the issue by identifying the changing environment in the pres-ent world and emphasized the need for providing training with modern day machinery ensuring priority to

‘skills for life’ factors. They were also of the opinion that

increased public-private partner-ships to develop competency-based vocational education in the country would change the mindset in skills sector.

The delegates also got an insight into the most prolific skill practices employed by various skill train-

ers from around the globe. Among those discussed were the vocational education training (VET) practiced in Australia, through which citi-zens are made eligible for loans to get involved in vocational training irrespective of their age, and the skill competitions, like those being organised by the education sector in the UK.

The objective is to give skilling activities a

paradigm shift and raise awareness among the youth

that enhancing vocational skills can lead to global

opportunitiesK BIJU IAS, DIRECTOR OF

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING

This is the first step towards transforming the unskilled workforce from a liability to an asset by partnering with industry, training institutions and organizations in the skill development landscapeRAHUL R IRS, MD, KERALA ACADEMY FOR SKILLS EXCELLENCE (KASE)

DELEGATES AT THE NYPUNYAM INTERNATIONAL SKILL SUMMIT 2016

March 2016 l Destination Kerala / 55

JOBIN THOMAS (Catering & Restaurant) Jobin, a native of Thottakkadu

near Pala in Kottayam district, is a final-year BHM

student at St Joseph’s Institute of Hotel Management and

Catering, Pala. The 24-year-old Jobin, who wished to get a good job in the hospitality

industry, has been made an offer by the Taj Group of

Hotels.

JOJI JOHN VARGHESE (Electronics)

Joji, a native of Anchal in Kollam district, is a third-year BTech student in Electronics and Communication at Mar

Baselios College of Engineering & Technology, Nalanchira. Joji,

22, has received an offer of employment from KELTRON at the event and he is also

interested in doing research in Electronics.

VISHNU RADHAKRISHNAN

(Electrical)Vishnu, 22, hails from Cha-lakkudy in Thrissur district. He is pursuing his second-year Electrician course at

Government ITI, Chalakkudy. He was hoping for a job

abroad but received an offer from Carborundum Universal

Ltd. at the event.

SUSHAMA SAJU (Fashion Technology)

Sushama, 22, of Thodupuzha in Idukki district, is a final

year MA student at Newman College Thodupuzha. Though she did not pursue any course in fashion technology, she is a budding entrepreneur and runs a tailoring shop. She received offers from Mantra and Kitex at

the event.

A B R I L L I A N T D I S P L AY O F S K I L L S

Aimed at providing a plat-form for the Kerala youth to showcase their vocational

skills, competition was held in 12 trades - Welding, Plumbing, Cater-ing & Restaurant Service, Mobile Robotics, Fashion Technology, Fitter, Electrical, Electronics, Automobile Technology, Bakery and Confection-ery, Carpentry, Computer-Aided Design (Civil and Electronics) - as part of Skill Fiesta 2016.

Around 2700 students partici-pated in the zonal-level competi-tions held in Thiruvananthapuram,

Kochi and Kozhikode, among which 70 candidates made it to the final event. The first prize winner in each category was given a gold medal and a cash prize of Rs. 1 Lakh each

while the second prize winners were given a purse of Rs. 50,000 and a silver medal. Besides, as a token of encouragement, all the other participants were given a sum of Rs. 10,000 each. At the valedictory function, Minister Shibu Baby John distributed the prizes to the winners. Alex Jolly, a Plus Two student, who surprised those who witnessed the Skill Fiesta with his Mobile Robot-ics skills was chosen the Skill Icon of the Year 2015-16 and presented with a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 by the Minister.

MINISTER SHIBU BABY JOHN WITH ALEX JOLLY

WINNERS OF NYPUNYAM SKILL FIESTA 2016 WITH MINISTER SHIBU BABY JOHN, TOM JOSE IAS, K BIJU IAS AND RAHUL R IRS

56 / Destination Kerala l March 2016

State a land of employable youth,” he said.

Being the youngest nation with more than 55 per cent of the popu-lation below the age of 25 years, Sathasivam said, the skill develop-ment initiatives of the Central and State Governments assume much significance as the demographic advantage will last only till the year 2040. “It is sad to note that only 3.4 per cent of the country’s work force is skilled while it is 96 per cent in South Korea and 80 per cent in Japan. We should consider this as an opportunity as well as a challenge rather than a matter to be ashamed of. Woking together we can make use of this demographic dividend within the narrow time frame to overcome the shortcomings,” the Governor said.

Labour and Skills Minister Shibu Baby John, who presided over the function, said Kerala has created a roadmap for all to follow with regard to skill development. He also handed over the MoU document signed between KASE and National Institute of Construction Manage-ment and Research (NICMAR), to Mangeshkar G Khorgaonkar, Direc-tor, NICMAR, in the presence of the Governor. Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Joint Secretary Rajesh Agarwal IAS said the Nypunyam International Skill Summit and Skill Fiesta would help create awareness among the public about how skill development is key to the development of an economy. “The Ministry is actively trying to work with the States to create a national ecosystem of skills

not only to nurture but provide a roadmap for skill training parallel to the formal education system of the country. It is high time we integrated skilling with formal education sys-tem,” he said. West Nottinghamshire College Group Principal and Chief Executive Dame Asha Khemka from the UK, Department of Labour and Skills Additional Chief Secretary Tom Jose IAS, KASE Managing Director Rahul R IRS, WorldSkills India Corporate Social Responsibil-ity Engagements Investing & Incen-tivizing Head Ranjan Choudhary, CII Kerala State Council Chairman Harikrishnan Nair, Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) CEO Dr. M T Reju IAS, Director of Employment and Training K Biju IAS and KASE COO J Harikrishnan spoke on the occasion.

WINNERS OF SKILL FIESTA 2016

NANDU SOMAN (Fitter)

Hailing from Piravom in Ernakulam district, Nandu, 24, has completed Fitter Diploma

from ITI, Thalakkodu. An aspiring entrepreneur, he is an employee of Delfi Connecting

System. Nandu received offers from Bahrain-based

VKL Group of Companies and Carborundum Universal Ltd. at

the event.

JUBIN GEORGE KURIEN

(Mobile Robotics) Jubin, 24, is a native of Sreek-ariyam, Thiruvananthapuram

district. He has completed Mechanical Engineering from

John Cox Engineering College. Jubin is now planning a startup venture. He has demonstrated his skills in Mobile Robotics at

various workshops outside Kerala.

SIRAJ P K (Plumbing)

Siraj, a native of Peruvayal in Kozhikode district,

has completed Diploma in Plumbing from ITI, Malikkadavu. He has

been doing plumbing work after completing the course in 2012. His

ambition is to excel in the trade.

SARATH S (Welding)

Sarath, 23, is from Vellanadu in Thiruvananthapuram

district. He has completed Welding course from

ITI, Dhanuvechapuram. Currently, he is working with BrahMos Aerospace Limited at Chackai. He received an offer from a Bahrain-based

company.

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TEAM KASE WITH MINISTER SHIBU BABY JOHN, TOM JOSE IAS, K BIJU IAS AND RAHUL R IRS