Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that skilling should not be just about equipping the youth with employable skills but should act as gateways to employability and employment— as their passports to prosperity.

“The more employment-oriented skilling is, the more aspirational it will be for the students and young Indians,” Chandrasekhar said as the Electronics Sector Skill Council of India (ESSCI) signed an MoU with Samsung India for a skilling initiative that aims to empower the youth with industry-relevant skills in emerging technology domains to enhance their employability.

The programme, ‘Samsung Innovation Campus’ aims to up skill over 3,000 unemployed youth from 18-25 years of age in future technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Big Data and Coding & Programming. ESSCI which is a National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) approved entity will execute the program through its nationwide network of approved training and education partners.

Chandrasekhar further said the government’s emphasis on skilling has been to harness the opportunities in an increasingly digitized world and to make India a talent pool. There is no deficit of talent in the country but an increased demand for talented and skilled Indians across the globe, he added.

The Minister urged the National Skills Development Corporation and the Ministry to work out plans to evolve closer partnerships between the industry and the skilling ecosystem for sustainable solutions.

Chandrasekhar further stated that efforts should be taken up not just with premier educational institutions but also with Universities and Institutes in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Welcoming Samsung’s initiative with ESSCI to empower young Indians with skills, he said that it “was a true hallmark of being a good partner to India and the Indians”, and urged them to headquarter their programmes in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to ensure skilling opportunities for the hundreds of thousands of students from these places.