New Delhi, Oct 18 (KNN) Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday launched the IndiaSkills 2023-24 and felicitated the World Skills 2022 Winners at an event held at Kaushal Bhawan, New Delhi. 

India has secured 11th position in the global competition, the best-ever ranking so far, as per the government press release.

A short video depicting the journey of World Skills 2022 was also shown in the programme. Some of the winners also shared their experiences in the competition.

While addressing the event, the Union Minister reminded everyone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for enhancing competency over acquiring degrees alone. 

He also highlighted the importance of introducing employable skills, which will increase market acceptance of the workforce. 

He stressed that we have to give equal importance to competencies, applied knowledge and hands-on training to lead in the 21st century.

The Minister also highlighted the need for mapping skill gaps to reduce the gap between degrees earned and skills acquired. 

He mentioned how NEP 2020 has taken steps to introduce a blended model by merging degree and competency, making it flexible and as per the choice of the students.

He also urged policymakers, academia, and industry to come together, making it a Janandolan to make India a developed nation by 2047, as envisioned by PM Narendra Modi. 

The blending of learning and earning leads to skill development, he highlighted.

WorldSkills Competition is the largest skill competition in the world, held once every two years. It is conducted by WorldSkills International, which has 86 member countries. 

These competitions provide both a benchmark for high performance and an objective way to assess vocational excellence. The duration of the competition duration is 4 days spanning 16 to 22 hours.

India participated in 50 skills and secured 11th position with 2 Silver Medals, 3 Bronze Medals and 13 Medallions for Excellence at the WSC 2022, its best ranking so far at the WorldSkills Competition. 

Indian Competitors, who represented the country at WorldSkills Competition 2022, were selected via IndiaSkills Competition 2021.

Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Atul Kumar Tiwari; Chairman, AICTE, Prof. T. G. Sitharam; Chairman, UGC, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Krishna Kumar Dwivedi; CEO, NSDC & MD, Shri Ved Mani Tiwari; Additional Secretary/Director General (Training), Trishaljit Sethi; Head, WorldSkill India, Dr. Maneesh Mishra; officials, dignitaries and students were also present in the function. 

(KNN Bureau)