IndiaSkills competition expects to send 58 entrants to Lyon for world event

Biannual WorldSkills Competition is considered the Olympics of international skilling events

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Starting Wednesday, more than 900 students from 32 states and Union Territories will demonstrate their skills in 61 categories, ranging from carpentry to drone filmmaking, to vie for a place in the WorldSkills competition in Lyon, France, in September.

The IndiaSkills Competition 2024, the country’s largest such event, is the run-up to the aspirational WorldSkills Competition held every two years. More than 400 industry experts will participate in the competition, which is considered the Olympics of world skilling events.

 Organised by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), IndiaSkills got over 2,50,000 registrations from across the country. More than 900 participants were selected through “intense and rigorous skilling” tests in districts and later at the state level. It is estimated that about Indian 58 competitors will make it to Lyon later this year. In 2022, as many as 54 students participated in the WorldSkills competition. In the last event, India won 2 silver medals, 3 bronze and 13 medallions for excellence. The country has also vastly improved its rank from 39th by participating in 15 skills in 2011 to 11th by participating in 50 skills in 2022.

The four-day-long IndiaSkills will allow participants to showcase their skills and talent on a national platform across traditional crafts to cutting-edge technologies. While 47 skills competitions will be held onsite, 14 will be held offsite in Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Participants will participate in nine exhibition skills like drone filmmaking, textile Weaving, leather shoemaking, and prosthetics makeup.

Students participating in the competition have been trained in ITIs, NSTIs, Polytechnics, institute of engineering, institute of nursing, and institute of biotechnology. Winners of IndiaSkills, with the help of industry trainers, will prepare for the WorldSkills Competition that will bring together 1,500 competitors from more than 70 countries. This year, early trends predict that India will win medals in automobile, hospitality and water technology in WorldSkills.

“The IndiaSkills Competition opens new avenues of opportunity for the skilled youth, empowering them to dream beyond conventional boundaries and showcase their skills on the global stage,” said Atul Kumar Tiwari, secretary at MSDE.

This year the participants will also have the opportunity to earn credits, within the National Credit Framework. All skills showcased in both the WorldSkills and IndiaSkills Competitions are aligned with the National Skills Qualification Framework.

It is also for the first time that IndiaSkills has incorporated a competition information system called Qrencia. This year, IndiaSkills is also supported by more than 400 industry and academic Partners like Toyota Kirloskar, Autodesk, JK Cement, Maruti Suzuki, Lincoln Electric, NAMTECH, Vega, Loreal, Schneider Electric, Festo India, Artemis, Medanta, and Cygnia Healthcare.