Govt plan to include entrepreneurship in school curriculum

The Kerala government plans to include entrepreneurship in the school curriculum with the help of state run Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE), a top official said today.

Besides this, efforts would be made to identify people with entrepreneurial skills and provide every help to set up their business venture, Tom Jose, Additional Chief Secretary, Labour and Skills Department, said.

He was speaking after visiting stalls at the India Skills Kerala 2018, the biggest skill and excellence fair in Kerala, which got underway here yesterday.

The three day event has been jointly organised by the Industrial Training Department and KASE. Besides stalls from skilling partners and other organizations, there are also demonstrations of state-of-the-art technology products.

Industrial Training Department and KASE have been organising the 'India Skills Kerala 2018' competitions for the last one month across the state.

Jose also said that the government planned to adopt innovative designs displayed in the ISK competitions in its various departments.

"The government will definitely think about it, provided the designs are in harmony with the official rules prescribed in this regard," he said.

He stressed the need for creating awareness on the significance of entrepreneurship.

Meanwhile, ESPOIR, an initiative of KASE, tasked with skilling the young workforce of the state for employment in India and abroad, said it has so far sent more than 380 people to several countries in the Gulf and Africa, where there's a huge demand for people in technical fields.

Claiming to be among the best 15 India International Skill Centres (IISCs) in the country,ESPOIR said it equips and sends around 15-20 people abroad every month with jobs, especially in the field of oil and gas industry, it said.

"But the number could have been more as preference for Keralites and opportunities are huge in these countries," said Austin E A, DGM, Operations, ESPOIR.

He said people were yet to value the significance of skills "If we say a welder can earn Rs five to 10 lakh per month in other countries, nobody would believe it. But that"s the truth," he said.

ESPOIR has been developed and operated by Eram group and largely concentrates on equipping the youth with skills required in the oil and gas industry.

It provides training for polytechnic staff through the State Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research and ITI staff through Skill Updating Institute for Industrial Training (SUIT).