Kollam: India's first Community Skill Park on Saturday opened at Chavara with Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy all praise for the 'new-generation approach' to developing skills and increasing the employability of the youth of the state.
Speaking after inaugurating 'Kaushal Kendra', the country's first community skill park in Chavara, on the outskirts of Kollam district, about 70 km from Kollam, Chandy said though students from Kerala excel in academics, they need a 'finishing touch' when it comes to employability.
Kaushal Kendra gives that necessary push to the youth and the government was happy to extend full support to the project, he said.
"Our state has wasted several opportunities, but I request people to use this venture to progress in the digital world as other states and other countries have done," he said.
State Labour and Skills Minister Shibu Baby John, who presided, said in the first phase, the project, implemented through the state's nodal skill development agency, the Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence, will set up centres in Kozhikode, Palakkad and Kannur in 2015.
In the next phase, all ten other districts will boast Kaushal Kendras in rural spots. "This is a project to make our youth globally competitive," the minister said.
"Usually, skill development centres are targeted towards school dropouts, but we studied skill development centres in other countries over the last four years, and built one that is a model suitable for the educated youth of Kerala."
The Kendra, set up at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore with world- -class facilities, works on four fronts: the Assessment and Career Guidance Cell helps rural, educated youth realise their career aptitude through the best global assessment tools and provides guidelines to choose through the course that is best suited for them with regard to their socio-economic and educational background.
A high-end digital library, tied-up with the World e-Library, will ensure access to digitised, authenticated
content from across the world. In association with the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, the Kendra's language lab will help youth obtain proficiency in English and other foreign languages.
Another state-of-the-art facility is a multi-skill room with video conference facility that acts as a skill training facility and virtual classroom, depending on industrial needs. There will be round-the-year training in various fields with the support of training and industrial partners, with a view to placements.
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