World Youth Skills Day 2022: No Youth Left Behind in India’s Economic Development – Webinar report

On the occasion of World Youth Skills Day on 15^th July 2022, National Skills Network (NSN) organised a panel discussion with industry experts followed by student interaction on the topic “No youth left behind in India’s economic development.”

Eminent panellists for the webinar were Mr. Rajesh A R, CEO, LabourNet; Mr. Chiranjiv Guha, Partnerships Lead, TCS iON; Mr. Abhishek Gupta, National Project Manager, AISECT, Mr. Shankar M G, Head Faculty Development, NTTF. The session was moderated by Dr. Madhuri Dubey, Founder, NSN and was coordinated by Team NSN – Sahitya Karra and Pratyusha Tripathy.

The panel discussion was followed by student interaction and this session saw participants from the following institutions – JCRE Skill Solutions, Quest Alliance, Satyam Learning Center SLC (DDU-GKY), TISS – SVE, NTTF, Tata STRIVE, ITI (Jail Road Delhi), and Don Bosco ITI, Kurla Mumbai.

World Youth Skills Day 2022

Every year World Youth Skills Day has given us an opportunity to have a dialogue between industry professionals, students and young entrepreneurs and people passionate about skills and vocational training. This year too, NSN ensured that we continue the dialogue between the stakeholders and take necessary actions.

The discussion focused on what steps can be taken to prevent young people from being left behind in India’s economic development, and how to ensure that young people are an integral part of India’s growth story.

Industry experts shared their views to inspire students about the importance of skills for professional and personal development. Panellists also shared some of the crucial tips with the students, to help them understand the importance and impact of skills in their lives and in enabling sustainable livelihoods.

Mr. Rajesh A R, CEO, LabourNet spoke about labour market concerns and understanding new skill sets to develop skills faster. He said, “Youth need to continually acquire the skills to climb the wage ladder. That way, by the age of 40, one can make their own plans to buy material or non-material things. Whatever their goals are for a very specific time period, this is a simple and important elemental skill”.

Mr. Abhishek Gupta, National Project Manager, AISECT and Mr. Shankar M G, Head Faculty Development, NTTF discussed how beneficial it can be to learn more skills, which are the basic skills for compensation and how to be a job creator with one’s own skills instead of being a job seeker. They also shared relevant examples to inspire the students to take responsibility for their own skill development.

“You need to have a reason to reach your goals, so you can achieve the skills acquired for yourself and have a willingness to learn something new every day”, said Mr. Abhishek Gupta.

Mr. Shankar M G said, “Learn to work hard on the job when you are getting a salary, but work harder on yourself to get more skills that are more valuable to you.”

Reiterating the importance of converting one’s passion into a profession, Mr. Chiranjiv Guha, Partnerships Lead, TCS iON said, “Convert your passion into your profession, with that you will be able to contribute more to improve your own socio-economic conditions and you will also be able to contribute in a better manner for the country’s economic growth”.

The panel discussion was followed by students’ interaction, which had students, alumni, young professionals and entrepreneurs share their experiences on how skills have helped them become what they are today and how they shaped their career choices and enabled a sustainable livelihood not just for themselves but also their families.

Ms. Barsha Bauri, FNB course student at SLC, Hyderabad, enthusiastically shared, “I am currently pursuing Food and Beverages service course from SLC training centre. After completing the course, I want to start my own restaurant in my hometown Dhanbad, Jharkhand. Through this, I want to financially support my father and family and contribute to the growth of my village”.

The webinar was successful in conveying the importance of skill development and entrepreneurship and to taking responsibility for one’s own development. As part of the vote of thanks, Dr. Madhuri Dubey, Founder, NSN, emphasised that “We will not be able to proceed or develop ourselves or develop the nation if are doing things the way we have been doing till now. Everything needs to change in the way we perceive, in the way we look at things and in the way we look at our careers, jobs and wages.”