The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, recently inaugurated the Odisha Skill Conclave 2023 and called for increased collaboration between the centre and state in new-age tech skilling in the country. Mr. Patnaik also allocated an additional budgetary expenditure of Rs. 100 crores to the new scheme Nua Odisha which seeks to train the youth in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data sciences. He noted the importance of investing in human capital and equipping the youth of the 21st century with the skills they need to succeed.
This event was also attended by Pritiranjan Gharai, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development & Technical Education, Subroto Bagchi, Chairman of Odisha Skill Development Authority, and Pradeep Kumar Jena, Chief Secretary and Chief Development Commissioner for Department of General Administration and Public Grievance. The event also saw the signing of several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between various stakeholders. Global leaders such as Festo, Mitutoyo, Schneider, Coursera, Alterra, Philips Education and ISB also expressed their interest in investing in the youth of Odisha.
The Odisha Skill Conclave is organised by the Government of Odisha and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as the industry partner. The conclave is intended to bring the entire skilling ecosystem together under one roof and to provide a platform to churn out ideas, devise ways to address current challenges, and to empower the youth of the country with employability skills for the changing world.
The article also mentioned ITE Education Services (ITEES), a leading provider of professional education, training and learning services in Singapore. Founded in 1958 and formerly known as the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), ITEES has provided tertiary, secondary and full-time diploma courses in areas such as engineering, business process and bio-medical technology, hospitality and tourism and enterprise. In addition to their diploma courses, ITEES also offers Open Training and Certification for Adults (OTCA) and Centre of Academic Coaching (CAC) programmes.
Subhrakant Panda, President of FICCI, was another key personality mentioned in the article. Mr. Panda is an accomplished international professional in business strategies, operations, corporate law, and mergers and acquisitions. He has also been instrumental in the development of the country’s FDI policy and the implementation of the Companies Act 2013. He has spearheaded several strategic initiatives in sustainable manufacturing, corporate social responsibility, adversarial mode risk assessment and valuation etc. His experience in leading the transformation of Midcap and India’s top SME companies has made him a respected leader of the Indian business community.