India’s skilling landscape continues to gain strong momentum, with major initiatives across government, academia, and industry. From empowering youth through new training programs to forging global partnerships and digital learning platforms, the week was filled with impactful developments in skill development and employability. States like Karnataka, Bihar, and Jharkhand are integrating vocational learning into education, while Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh announced ambitious job creation and apprenticeship targets.
At the national level, MSDE’s collaboration with Autodesk is set to boost digital design education in ITIs and NSTIs, while Pearson announced BTEC Connect 2025 to bridge education and employability. IIT Hyderabad and Cusat launched advanced skill hubs fostering innovation-driven learning. In the private sector, GHCL Foundation, REHAU, and Alkem Foundation are driving skilling through CSR and industry-led initiatives.
Together, these efforts highlight India’s unified push toward a future-ready, inclusive workforce blending traditional craftsmanship with advanced technology skills.
Here we go with this week’s edition of our weekly newsbytes –
Upcoming events on skills and education
Pearson BTEC Connect 2025 – Bridging Education and Employability
Pearson is organising BTEC Connect 2025 to bring together educators, policymakers, and industry leaders to shape a skills-first education ecosystem for India. The event will focus on applied learning, global qualifications, and industry partnerships that prepare learners with future-ready skills for growth and innovation.
Date: 4th December 2025
Time: From 6 PM onwards
Venue: Hyderabad
DIDAC India and DIDAC Skills 2025 – Asia’s Largest Exhibition and Conference for the Education and Skills Sector
Asia’s largest and India’s only Exhibition and Conference on educational resources and solutions returns with its 15th edition – Bigger, Bolder, Better, along with Didac Skills – Asia’s only Exhibition and Conference on Future of Work.
Organised by the India Didactics Association (IDA) in collaboration with Messe Stuttgart India, the event will bring together the latest educational resources, technology-based solutions, innovative products, and contemporary educational advances.
Date: 18 – 20 November 2025
Venue: Yashobhoomi (India International Convention & Expo Centre), Dwarka, New Delhi
Register now: Click here to know more and register
Skill development updates from the government
- 1,600 DDU Gorakhpur University students received Samsung Innovation Campus certificates from CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow, marking program completion.
- MSDE and UP government advance skill-based growth in Basti. Minister Shri Jayant Chaudhary reviews training and entrepreneurship initiatives for 10,000 youth.
- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Chandrababu Naidu announced monthly job fairs, a 20 lakh job target by 2029, and an AI-driven ‘Naipunyam’ skill portal.
- CAIT, with Coca-Cola India and NSDC, launched the ARISE National Skilling Mission to empower retailers under PM Modi’s “Skill India” vision.
- The 22nd ASEAN–India Summit reaffirmed India’s strategic partnership with ASEAN, highlighting cooperation under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Act East Policy.
- Arunachal Pradesh’s Printing and Stationery and Skill Development Departments launched a joint two-month training in Offset Operation and Binding for 35 trainees.
- MSDE’s DGT and Autodesk signed an MoU to boost digital design skills in NSTI and ITI trainers nationwide, enhancing employability.
- Jharkhand to launch ‘Kaushal Bodh’ sessions for Classes VI – VIII, integrating vocational skills with classroom learning under NEP 2020.
- At the Bengaluru Skill Summit, Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah unveiled Karnataka’s ₹4,432-crore plan to skill 3 million youth and boost women’s ITI enrollment.
- Bihar to introduce vocational education in Jehanabad secondary schools from 2025 – 26, providing practical skills and lab-based learning for Classes 9 – 10.
- Karnataka urged industries to raise apprenticeship intake under NAPS, aiming to boost youth employability and bridge the academia-industry skill gap.
- Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced a new skill development centre in Nagpur’s Punapur to create five lakh jobs over five years.
- Maharashtra approved a ₹200-crore CIIIT at the Government Engineering College, Amravati, in collaboration with Tata Technologies, to train 7,000 engineering students annually.
- Romania to employ 30,000 skilled Indian professionals annually, strengthening bilateral mobility, education, and cultural cooperation with India.
- Sikkim’s Commerce and Industries Department launched a Carpenter Trade Training under the PM Vishwakarma Scheme to boost local artisans’ skills and self-reliance.
- Kerala Minister Shri V Sivankutty laid foundation stones for ITI and school projects, and inaugurated new buildings and rebuilt roads in Nemom.
- Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu reaffirmed focus on quality technical education and directed action on unused buildings worth ₹126 crore.
- MSDE’s Directorate General of Training signed an MoU with Autodesk to boost digital design skills among NSTI and ITI trainers nationwide.
- Jammu and Kashmir approved the Chief Minister’s Scheme for Heritage Courses to revive seven traditional crafts across 15 ITIs and polytechnics.
- Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha distributed skill development toolkits to Bru migrants, emphasising self-reliance, dignity, and inclusive growth in the state.
- The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) began transitioning into a dual recognition body to certify academic and vocational education under NSQF, bridging learning with employability.
Skill development updates on CSR and Industry
- GHCL Foundation empowered 5,500 rural Gujarat youth, mostly girls, through NSDC-linked VTIs offering industry-ready training under the Skill India Mission.
- REHAU launched a monthly PMKVY skill training programme for ITI graduates to boost skilled manpower in India’s growing woodworking industry.
- Krafton unveiled its 2026 esports roadmap, expanding BGIS, BMPS, BMSD, and BMIC tournaments nationwide to boost talent discovery, skill development, and global exposure.
- Alkem Foundation partnered with IIT Bombay to establish a research centre focused on immunotherapeutics and regenerative medicine, funding it through CSR initiatives.
To know more, check out the latest updates on CSR and ESG initiatives that are creating a meaningful impact in skill development and education here: https://nationalskillsnetwork.in/csr-and-esg-in-skill-education/
Skilling and upskilling in academia and emerging technologies
- IIT Hyderabad’s Rural Development Centre launched the NBV Skilling Centre to train rural youth in technical, entrepreneurial, and industry-relevant skills.
- NetApp and Nasscom Foundation launched an AI and Data Science skilling program to train underserved engineering graduates in Karnataka and Delhi.
- A new Skill Development Hub was inaugurated at Cusat, Kochi, to equip students with practical, industry-relevant STEM skills for global employability.
- The upcoming Vidarbha Global Foundation Skill Centre at Punapur, Nagpur, a joint initiative of the Association for Industrial Development (AID), Tata Strive, and the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), will train 2,000 youth annually, boosting industry-linked, job-oriented education.
*IMPORTANT:
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