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.
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South zone finalists announced at WAVES VFX challenge in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: The South Zone round of the WAVES VFX Challenge took place today in Bengaluru, organized by the Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI).
The day-long competition brought together talented participants from across southern India, with the goal of selecting top finalists who will go on to represent the region at the national finals next month during the WAVES Summit in Mumbai.
Finalists were selected in three categories:
Student Category
Winner: Soumya Das
Runner-up: Gagan HP
Professional Category
Winner: Mohamad Javeed
Runner-up: S Sai Chandan
Enthusiasts Category
Winner: Gagan Ajai
Over 1,500 entries were received from students, working professionals, and VFX enthusiasts, all centered around the theme “Super Hero Power.” Out of these, 14 entries were shortlisted to compete in today’s final round. One winner and one runner-up from each category were chosen to represent the South Zone in Mumbai.
ABAI Secretary R.K. Chand appreciated the strong participation and encouraged industry professionals to attend the Mumbai summit, which will host well-known personalities from films, advertising, and creative sectors. He also mentioned that the WAVES Challenge was recently launched in Bengaluru by Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The event was inaugurated by Dr. Sagar Gulati, Director of the School of Creative Design and Information Technology at Jain (Deemed-to-be University), the zonal partner for the competition.
The day also featured two special sessions led by industry experts. Vijay Selvam from the global VFX studio MPC held a masterclass titled “Concept Reality,” where he discussed lighting, animation, compositing, and photorealistic effects. Students got the chance to interact with him during a Q&A session.
Another session was conducted by Rakesh H, Lead Head at The Mill, who spoke about how visual effects are used in advertising. Nearly 100 students attended these sessions, gaining valuable industry insights and learning opportunities.
