Context

IndiaSkills, 2018, the country’s biggest skill competition recently concluded in Delhi. It was the second edition of the nationwide skill competition organised by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.

About

Aim

• It seeks to identify, recognise, promote and reward the best talents in various skills.
• It also working at recognising best talents of various trades and providing them with training to make them able to participate in 45^thWorldSkills Competition at Kazan, Russia in 2019.

Highlights

• 450 participants took part in the 3-day national level competition organized in New Delhi.
• At the national level, competition included 46 trades, 10 traditional trades and four demo skills to compete in.
• 23 states actively participated in organizing the competitions at the state and regional levels, in which over 50 thousand participants took part.
• A number of Divayangs also participated in the competition and the winners will take part at the World level in Abilympics in China. A large number of Corporates (over 100) supported the Government’s efforts in organizing the IndiaSkills 2018.

Significance

• According to the latest estimates, Germany has 3 million apprentices and USA 0.5 million, while India has only 0.3 million. At this front, there’s still a long way to go and competitions like IndiaSkills can help in this regard. It can provide platform to showcase talent and attract more talent to get skilled.
• The competition has become a testing ground for evaluating the policy changes brought in by the government in apprenticeship such as amendment to the Apprentice Act of 1961.
• The programme provides an opportunity for those talented youngsters to showcase their talent, who could not make it to the IITs and other engineering due to various reasons such as financial constrains.
  
  

  International Abilympics (IA): The 1st IA was held in Tokyo in 1981 to commemorate the United Nations' International Year of Disabled Persons. It received the wide support of both governmental and non-governmental organizations. The Abilympics have helped to overturn traditional views in regard to the skills, potentials and abilities of disabled persons, resulting in increased employment opportunities and vocational stability. The International Abilympic Federation (IAF) was established during the 3rd IA held in Hong Kong. This was a big step forward in realizing the philosophy of the Abilympics. Since then, the IA has been held in Perth, Australia (1995), Prague, Czech Republic (2000), Delhi, India (2003), Shizuoka, Japan (2007), when it was held concurrently for the first time with the WorldSkills Competitions, and in Seoul, Korea in 2011. 45TH WorldSkills Competition: The city of Kazan, Russia, will host the 45th WorldSkills Competition in 2019. The award was made as the result of a vote taken at the WorldSkills General Assembly meeting held in São Paulo, Brazil, 10 August 2015. Since its inception in 1950, WorldSkills has built an impressive presence on the world stage of vocational education and training, demonstrating global excellence in skills through its biennial international skills competitions and promoting the importance of a strong skills system for every country or region.