Skill, knowledge are the real drivers of growth: Kerala Governor

Chief Guest former Chief Justice of India and Kerala Governor P Sathasivam released a coffee-table book ‘Educators of Tamil Nadu,’ where towering personalities from diverse fields participated.

Speaking on the occasion, the governor said “skill, knowledge are the real drivers of socio-economic growth in any society.” Though the national skill development mission is to cover 40 crore people by 2020, the country is facing shortage of well-trained and skilled people. Less than 5% of the 459 million workforce got formal training, a dismal figure when compared to 96% of Korea and 80% of Japan’s trained workforce. Vocational institutions had crossed the five-lakh mark in China while in India they were lingering around a few thousands. 

Major employability challenges include lack of communication and analytical skills, Sathasivam said, adding TN is a pioneer of community colleges as it had 766 of the country’s 1949 such colleges. With India’s demographic dividend advantage alive till 2040 given the population pyramid bulge of the 50-59 age group, it is imperative for proactively partnering in skill building efforts by the stakeholders concerned. 

Earlier, Dr Vinod Surana, Co-Chairman, Assocham (TN) and Southern Region Development Council and DTNext CEO Ninan Thariyan dwelt on the challenges and pain points as far as employability is concerned. The country could have a competitive edge only if emphasis is given to skill-building efforts through collaboration and innovative thinking.