New Delhi : Automation and Artificial Intelligence is feared to take away jobs from the market. But experts in skill development believe that redefined skills can meet the challenges thrown up by the constantly evolving technology. Highlighting the need to re-orient India’s education and skills policies, Skill Development Committee of leading industry chamber, FICCI organized its 10th ‘Global Skills Summit’ on Friday 15th Sep, 2017 with the theme “New Age Skills for today and tomorrow”.
Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Petroleum and Natural Gas while inaugurating the event underlined the importance of the critical issue of skill development in India. He emphasized the development of an ecosystem in the country in which people think that the work they are doing is helping in improving their skills and creating jobs for others as well.
Minister also said that India cannot ignore the challenges of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. The country has to accept the challenges of industrial revolution 4.0, the minister added.
Pradhan added, “We missed growth opportunity in the last industrial revolution. We are focusing to create an ecosystem so that India does not miss on the Industrial Revolution 4.0. India has only 10 percent skilled white-collar jobs and its biggest challenge will be to take 1-1.5 crore workforce to a level where they are skilled enough to earn their livelihood.”
Minister also unveiled threee reports ‘Future of Jobs’, ‘Industry Engagement Report’, ‘Employer led Job Models primer report’ published by FICCI and magazine ‘Media Talk Back’ published by Media and Entertainment Skill Council (MESC) promoted by FICCI.
Attending the summit, Simon Bartley, president of WorldSkills International said,”India will develop enormously fast if it embraces development of skills for all and not just few. He focused on the fact that skills are more important than education in today’s world. It is important to implement all the skills you have. There are jobs but people need to be upgraded.”
He further focused on the fact that India is missing in the list of top 10 countries in the world skills competition and challenged India to take it up and improve.
Chairman of FICCI Skill Development Committee, Shri TV Mohandas Pai, said that it is the need of the hour that the country prepares the youth with the skills that will cater the requirements of present and the future. “We have to make sure that we prepare the young people for the skills for present – for today and tomorrow, skills which will last for 40 years, because 40 years is the working life of an individual in society. The skills that we are giving today should be something that they can look forward to, for the next 40 years, not giving them skills for yesterday’s job. And that’s put a tremendous amount of responsibility on all of us,” he said.
He also underlined the need to incentivize people who create jobs. He said that the employers should be given importance and an ecosystem should be developed for them to create gainful employment in the country. He said, “The policies have to be at the tune of making employers first part of this entire ecosystem and make them the prime focus because they are the ones who will hire the people and they are ones who know what skills are required and they are the ones who are going to make sure that the people are gainfully employed.”
Display of working models of futuristic technologies based 3D printed gadgets, 3D printing devices and AI based robotic arms were the main areas of attraction for the delegates.
Ms. Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Asst. Secretary General signed off the event with special thanks to all speakers and other dignitaries who attended the summit
SkillReporter, the official Online Media Partner to 10th FICCI Global Skills Summit is thankful to FICCI Skills Department team members Shiv Shukla, Kaustubhi Harit and Atishai Saxena for strategically planning and organizing the event.
