Our institutions need to connect industry needs, workplace change, skills: LG Sinha

Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Nov 3: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the World Skill Center, a premier advanced skill training institute established by the Government of Odisha in Bhubaneswar, today.

He was accompanied by Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor and Saurabh Bhagat, Commissioner/Secretary, Skill Development Department, J&K.

The Lt Governor took a walkthrough of the facility, lab and interacted with trainees and teachers.

In his remarks, the Lt Governor said the World Skill Center is playing a vital role in upskilling Odisha youth and preparing them for future ready careers.

He highlighted the need to replicate the institute’s best practices and training porgrammes in other parts of the country as well in order to impart high-quality engineering and non-engineering skill training and novel process of mentoring and enabling trainees to sharpen their skills.

“Our institutions need to connect industry needs, workplace change and skills. Training modules should leverage technology and address problems of demand and skill gap, nurture young talents and create a cadre equipped with specialized knowledge to contribute to the growth of developed India,” the Lt Governor said.

The Lt Governor said rapid industrialization and exponential growth of technology demand high skill sets and capabilities for ensuring better employment opportunities for the youth in the skill sectors.

We must explore every possibility to move the young workforce from the less productive informal sector to more productive formal sectors, he added.

The Lt Governor lauded endeavors of the Odisha Government under the ‘Skilled in Odisha’ initiative.

At the World Skill Center, the Lt Governor also talked about the ongoing industrialization in Jammu Kashmir and the unique initiatives of the UT Administration to develop J&K as hub of innovation and skill development.

Subroto Bagchi, Chief Advisor to Government of Odisha, Institutional Capacity Building; Alka Misra, Chairperson, Odisha Skill Development Authority and other senior officers of Government of Odisha were present.

Later, the Lt Governor interacted with officials of Startup Odisha and discussed the reforms made by the team in building the startup and innovation ecosystem in the state.

Startup Odisha team informed the Lt Governor about ‘O Hub’, a state-of-the-art Incubation facility which aims to register more than 5000 startups by 2025.

Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha, Dr Omkar Rai enumerated the notable achievements and future growth plans of Startup Odisha.