Essential to equip youth with new age skills: Pradhan
Bhubaneswar, Oct 6 : Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Saturday said it is essential to equip the youth with new age skills to meet the requirements of the market.
India is a country of young people and its demographic dividend is our asset, while the challenge is to map the aspirations of our youth with the opportunities, the Union Skill Development Minister said while chairing a workshop 'Closing the Skills Gap and Future of Jobs' here.
"Our education system has given knowledge and empowerment, it must also equip our youth with employability.
It is important that we connect young generation with the new age skills. Demand mapping is key to keep up with the requirements of the market," Pradhan said.
Co-organised by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and World Economic Forum (WEF), the objective of this day-long workshop was to identify pathways for human-centered and sustainable growth and to reflect upon coherent and coordinated strategies to proactively prepare for and shape the future of work.
Noting that inclusion of women in workforce is another imperative, Pradhan said bringing more and more women in the workforce will give further boost to our GDP and bring in social change.
On the social importance of skills, the Union Minister said: "Skill is not only an economic commodity, it is also a sociological concept. It encompasses aptitude, aspiration and emotion of the youth. Empowerment of our masses cannot happen without skilling, and we are working on to ensure this."
Describing Bhubaneswar as a progressive city of Eastern India, he said the capital city of Odisha is the epicentre of our demographic dividend.
Keeping a special focus on Odisha, the Minister unveiled a report "The Barunei Accord - Skill Development in Odisha: A Roadmap for Progressive Future."
The report projects incremental labour demand of 5.3 lakh (in 2018-19) in the state and potential to absorb around 77 per cent of the unemployed population through appropriate long term and short term skill training.
The report brings focus on significant youth population which can drive economic growth in the state and lays emphasis on skilling opportunities in Agriculture, Culture & Heritage, Rural and Tribal domains and identifies entrepreneurship model to generate employment.
It reiterates accelerating and scaling skill planning and deploying solutions such as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), Apprenticeship and Counselling of youth.
The workshop also included a presentation on a study "The Future of Jobs 2018" prepared by World Economic Forum.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bengaluru family attempts to send man in 'parcel' to protest high bus fares ahead of Ugadi, Ramzan
Bengaluru, Mar 18 (PTI): A family allegedly attempted to send an elderly man in a "parcel" through a courier service in protest against high bus fares ahead of Ugadi and Eid-ul-Fitr, police said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred in the Vyalikaval area of central Bengaluru on Tuesday evening, they said.
According to police, the family approached a private courier centre claiming they wanted to parcel the man as a symbolic message to the public over rising fares in both private and government buses.
Startled by the request, the courier staff alerted the police.
ALSO READ: Pvt bus operators demand immediate hike in payment rates for buses requisitioned by EC
During the inquiry, the elderly man's daughter said the act was staged as a protest and to create a social media reel. As part of the stunt, the family had placed the elderly man inside a gunny sack, a senior police officer said.
Police said the situation turned serious when the man experienced breathing difficulties inside the sack. Subsequently, the family apologised to the police and the public for their actions.
The officials warned that the act could have endangered the man's life and attracted serious legal consequences.
"No legal action was taken against them. However, the family was let off with a warning after issuing a video apology and were strictly cautioned against such dangerous stunts in the future, the officer added.
