Principal Secretary School Education Department & Skill Development Department, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon, chaired a meeting to review progress of Skill Development Sector here today.Director, Skill Development, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India, all Deputy Commissioners of Kashmir division, Directors of various departments like Skill Development, Handicrafts, Industries & Commerce, Horticulture, Agriculture, Health, Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Mission Director, J&K Skill Development Mission, Additional Secretary, Skill Development Department and representatives of FICCI and other organizations attended the meeting.The meeting had threadbare discussion on operationalization of District Skill Committees and District Nodal Skill Centres in Jammu and Kashmir, formation of skill action plans for the districts of J&K and human resource requirement mapping in remaining districts of the Union Territory.Pertinently, District Skill Committees have been established across Jammu and Kashmir to ensure quality, consistency and convergence in the overall skill ecosystem of the Union Territory besides generating awareness on various initiatives launched by the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Dr. Samoon said, “Focus of skill development schemes is to ensure creation of a robust skill ecosystem in J&K to enable youth to get maximum skilling opportunities within their districts.” He stressed upon the officers to organise meetings of District Skill Committees within one week and formulate job oriented District Skill Development Actions Plans within a month’s time focusing on coverage of youth in the age group of 18-25 years.“Once formulation of district skill development plans is completed, Skill Development Department will start training youth including women and other marginalized groups as per district requirements,” added Dr. Samoon.Dr. Samoon emphasized the operationalisation of District Skill Nodal Centres (DSNC), established at district level for coordinating all skill development related activities of the district besides providing secretarial assistance to the District Skill Committees. He also underlined the importance of establishing placement cells in all ITIs and Polytechnics of J&K and impressed upon all the skill implementing departments to coordinate with J&K Skill Development Mission in strengthening the skill ecosystem in the Union Territory.Deputy Commissioners of Kashmir division also shared their experiences about the existing skill development scenario and their future strategies of skill development and employment in their respective districts.