Minister for Higher Education, IT and BT and Science and Technology C.N. Ashwath Narayan on Thursday said the State Government has set a target of imparting training in employable skills to 2.50 lakh job aspirants this year. There is no dearth of jobs but the candidates are in need of skills that are key for them to find employment and his government is committed to provide training in all areas of employment since its goal is to ensure “jobs to every job seeker”, he added.
Speaking after inaugurating the Mega Job Mela organised by the Karnataka Skill Development Authority in association with the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) here, he said 75,000 candidates had got skill training last year. “If you have skills, you can get your dream job. Once the candidates register for the jobs, the agencies will work towards making them employable with the requisite skills.”
In the job mela organised on the KSOU campus, as many as 80 companies, mostly local ones, are participating. During the pandemic situation, job mela was done on a virtual platform and Skill Connect initiative was launched to educate the job aspirants on the skills they are supposed to obtain for getting employed. “We have set a target of having skill awareness sessions even in schools and colleges in the coming days,” the Minister told the gathering.
Facelift of ITIs
Mr Ashwath Narayan said the Government has embarked on an initiative of modernising the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to match with the requirements of Industry 4.0. As part of it, 150 ITIs have been modernised so far and 120 more will be done soon. Together, they can give admission to 1.50 lakh candidates.
In the case of polytechnic institutes too, steps have been taken to make them relevant as the candidates were of the view that polytechnic courses have no future. Out of 70,000 seats available, only 25,000 were filled up last year. Opportunities are plenty but the candidates have to make use of the resources in an effective way without going for the short cuts, the Minister advised the job aspirants.
Referring to the National Education Policy (NEP, Mr. Ashwath Narayan said the NEP has given emphasis for the foundation education considering the brain development of children who are between 3 and 12 years of age. In view of this, education, under the NEP, begins at the age of 3. Such reforms are being brought in the education sector and Karnataka is the first State to implement the NEP. “A child has the capacity to learn 15 languages during the crucial age of 3 and 12 years. The child’s strength has to be harnessed better. The foundation education has to be stronger than the education in universities,” he felt.
On the occasion, the Minister inaugurated the KSOU’s projects including the Science Lab, three Regional Centres, KSOU Radio, Audio Visual Studio and the renovated ‘Nala’ building on the Muktagangotri campus.
In his address, KSOU Vice-Chancellor S. Vidyashankar said over 4,000 candidates had registered for the job mela and added that top companies have come with job offers. He told the candidates not to rely primarily on jobs in the government sector but also look for employment in the private sector.
He thanked the Higher Education Minister for according the “exclusive status” to the KSOU for running open and distance learning (ODL) courses.
L. Nagendra, MLA, sought the Minister’s approval for taking up development works in Maharani’s College here.
S.A. Ramdas, MLA, advised the candidates to become job creators instead of job seekers.
Minister in charge of Mysuru district S.T. Somashekar, Mayor Sunanda Palanetra and others were present.
