Uttarakhand needs 2 mn skilled people

The Uttarakhand government has launched efforts to generate skilled manpower amid reports the hill state would need 2 million such people in the next 10 years.

Chairing a meeting at the secretariat on the scope and need for skill development in the state, Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar said skilled manpower would be required in tourism, food processing, education, agriculture and forestry in the state.

Kumar said the National Skill Development Corporation carried a survey to ascertain the skill gap in Uttarakhand.

He said the youth should be trained in skills needed by industrial houses and other business units. He said different skills were needed in various parts of the state including horticulture, fisheries and adventure tourism. Additional Secretary (Technical Education) Shailesh Bagoli said a skill development society had been constituted for making training and employment opportunities available. In the next five years, 6.50 lakh people will be trained in different areas in the state and in the five years after that, the number will be doubled, he added.

A skill development office, facilitation centre and training monitor will be set up in all districts. Also present at the meeting were, additional secretaries Amit Negi, Sachin Kurve, V. Shanmugam, National Skill Development Corporation's Malvika and representatives of industrial organizations.

Welcoming the move, Industries Association of Uttarakhand (IAU) President Pankaj Gupta said the demand for skilled people has been growing rapidly in the hills state. "The industry is not getting enough trained and skilled people. In future, we are hopeful that the government's efforts will help the industry as far as the skill development is concerned," said Gupta.