SRINAGAR : Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar today chaired the 3rd Governing Council meeting of Jammu and Kashmir Skill Development Mission (JKSDM) at Civil Secretariat here. Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan also participated in the meeting.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary SDD, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon; Principal Secretary, School Education Department (SED), BK Singh; Commissioner Secretary Labour and Employment, Sarita Chauhan; Secretary Tribal Affairs and Mission Director JKSDM, Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary; Secretary, Planning, Development, Monitoring and Higher Education departments, Sushma Chauhan; Secretary Tourism and Culture Departments, Sarmad Hafeez; Secretary, SDD, Nazim Zia Khan; Secretary Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Rifat Arif; Director SDD, Sudershan Kumar; DG Budget, M.Y Itoo and other concerned officers of the Skill Development Department while as Director IIM, Jammu, Director, IIT, Jammu and other participated online.
The Governing Council held detailed discussions and deliberations on Implementation of State Managed Component of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0, Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Project (SANKALP) Scheme, Mainstreaming Aspiration Districts through Skill Development programme under SANKALP project and other schemes with focus on progress achieved, both physically and financially on each scheme.
Advisor Bhatnagar, who is also the Chairman of Governing Council, while speaking during the meeting said that the vocational courses and training which form the core areas under the Skill Development have been given much importance under the National Educational Policy-2020 and emphasis should be given to create linkages between different courses and departments to avoid duplications.
The Advisor remarked that the Skill Development Department has a pivotal role to play in imparting skills to youth to overcome the problem of unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir.
He added that the need of hour is to start those trades and courses of skill development which can create maximum employability avenues for youth of Jammu and Kashmir.
Asserting that education and skill building are the core means for empowering youth, Advisor Bhatnagar directed the concerned officers to work with utmost efforts to ensure empowerment of youth by way of imparting requisite proficiency. He asked the officers to study the feasibility and relevance of ongoing trades in all ITIs and Polytechnic Colleges and the course structure of all the Skill institutes should be revamped as per the needs of the today’s industrial establishments.
The Advisor also asked for constant coordination and synergy between SDD, SED and HED for desired outcomes of the various schemes launched by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), GoI.
Speaking during the meeting, Advisor Farooq Khan asked the officers that the factor of employability should be taken into consideration before the start of any new course of skill development in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Advisor further asked the officers to target the disadvantaged section of population and keep their requirements in consideration also while framing the new courses. He also asked them for rationalisation of courses in ITIs and Polytechnics as per the needs of the youth with special focus on those courses having greater chances of employability.
Advisor Farooq Khan also delved upon the officers that requisite infrastructure should be created for the smooth and effective implementation of different schemes for upgrading the skills of young population of Jammu and Kashmir.
On the occasion the Governing Council took some significant decisions related to the Skill Development of Jammu and Kashmir.
The council approved the Short Term Training (STT) of 709 candidates and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for 4000 candidates under the PMKVY 3.0. The council also approved Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Project (SANKALP) Scheme and Mainstreaming Aspiration Districts through Skill Development programme under SANKALP for strengthening institutional mechanisms, building a pool of quality trainers and assessors, creating convergence among all skill training activities, establishing robust monitoring and evaluation system for skill training programmes, providing access to skill training opportunities to the disadvantaged sections and most importantly supplement the “Make in India” initiative by catering to the skill requirements in relevant manufacturing sectors.
On the occasion, Principal Secretary SDD gave a detailed presentation highlighting the physical and financial achievements made by the SDD under the different schemes.