There is need to promote culture where students earn while

Kerala Labour and Skills Minister T P Ramakrishnan on Saturday said there is a need to

promote a culture where students earn while studying and to this end will soon bring out a state Skills Policy.

"Kerala will soon bring out a state Skills Policy and also a Career Policy considering the recent surge in the

importance of technology in the new age," he said here at the inaugural of India Skills Kerala 2020, an endeavour to

showcase the technical proficiency of the youth. "We must promote a culture where students earn while

studying. The state needs its youth in educational institutions to do part-time jobs," the Minister added.

He said the government had initiated several skill development programmes and added, "India Skills Kerala is part

of that mission." The three-day state-level round of India Skills Kerala

which began here today, offers total prize money of around Rs 78 lakh.

The event features 253 participants who will be showcasing their skills in 39 disciplines with several prizes

and a ticket for an international-level competition in China at stake.

India Skills Kerala gives the winner of each skill Rs one lakh, while the runner-up will receive Rs 50,000. Those

finishing in the subsequent four ranks get Rs 10,000 each. "Kozhikode has a history of popularising peoples

festival," Ramakrishnan said. "Let genuine and extraordinary skills lead the

youth to greater heights," he added. Kozhikode North MLA A Pradeepkumar, who is chairman of

the event's organising committee, in his presidential address, said events focused on the skill development of youth are a

welcome sign. India Skills Kerala comes as a result of its

district-level competitions held last month, with 4,298 contestants.

The 1,278 winners among them subsequently qualified for the zonal rounds held separately for the north, central

and south regions of the state. While the state-level winners qualify for the

national competitions, the prize-winning performers in that round will represent the country at World Skills 2021 in

Shanghai. That global round next year will have youngsters from

83 countries vying for honours and prizes in 54 skills. The event is being organised by the Industrial

Training Department (ITD) and Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE), both under the Labour and Skills

Department.