India Skills Kerala 2020 got off to a colourful start at Swapna Nagari here on Saturday with Minister for Labour and Skills T.P. Ramakrishnan opening the three-day event aimed at showcasing the technical proficiency of the youth in the State.
The event, organised by the Industrial Training Department (ITD) and Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE), will see 253 participants who were winners from district and zonal rounds vying in 39 disciplines. The event offers a prize money of ₹78 lakh.
It also has at stake an opportunity for the competitors to participate in national events, where the victors get a chance to represent the country at World Skills 2021 at Shanghai in China.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said the government would come up with a career policy shortly considering a recent surge in the importance of technology in the new age. The State needs its youth in educational institutions to do part-time jobs, he said.
India Skills Kerala gives the top winner of each skill ₹1 lakh, while the runner-up will be given ₹50,000.
Those finishing in the subsequent four ranks get ₹10,000 each.
In his presidential address, A. Pradeepkumar, MLA, who is the chairman of the organising committee, said at a time when engineering education was witnessing travesty, events focussed on the skill development of the youth were a welcome sign.
India Skills Kerala comes as a result of its district-level competitions held last month, with 4,298 contestants. The 1,278 winners among them qualified for the zonal rounds held separately for the north, central and south regions.
39 skills
Of the 39 skills for which competitions are on at India Skills Kerala, 32 are at Swapna Nagari. Three (CNC Milling, CNC Turning, Plastic Die Engg) have the NTTF, Thalassery (Kannur district) as the venue. Further, in Kozhikode, Print Media Technology contest has Mathrubhumi as the venue, cooking is slated to be held at SIHM and Water Technology at the CWRDM. Government ITI at Chalakudy (Thrissur district) is holding competitions in Car painting.
