Skill champions from India at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017
The earlier a person starts acquiring a skill set and starts using it, the more qualitative and quantitative experience they gain, and the better and faster they get at executing their craft over the course of a career. This also allows the acquired skill set to evolve faster with evolving times.
A person may be hired at the start of their career for being proficient at a certain core skill set, but career progression depends more and more on the evolution of the skill-set. The modern world is a continuously evolving one and skills are at its foundation, driving careers, companies, industries, economies and lifestyles altogether. The more they evolve, the faster the rest of the world does.
The world skills competition, held every two years, is the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in the world. Since 2011, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), has been responsible for India’s participation in the event. This year, 28 participants are competing in 26 skills including car painting, brick laying, hair styling, beauty therapy, proto-type modelling, auto body repair, visual merchandizing, mobile robotics, CNC Turing, welding among others. The competition is being held in Abu Dhabi from 14th -19 October 2017.
The competitors, identified through various regional and national level competitions over the last two years, have then undergone extensive training with Industry partners across industry, with some even travelling overseas, for expert training. They have also endured a strenuous three-day training workshop for softer skill such as time management, coping with pressure amongst other pre-event preparation, organised by NSDC.
Candidates come from varying backgrounds from across the country. For instance, Aditya Pratap Singh Rathore, who hails from Agra, took his childhood obsession about cars to a Full-Term Apprentice (FTA) Mechanic Motor Vehicle (MMV) trade in Pune, where he learned the nuances of complex systems that power modern day automobiles.
Sahil Budhiraja from Naraingarh, Ambala in Haryana, inspired by his mother’s cooking, joined the Indian Institute of Hotel Management at Pusa, New Delhi to pursue his dream to be a great chef. He has received “The Most Dedicated Student Award” from the institute and also participated in the UK Skill competition 2016. Vibhor Meshram and Samarth Goudar, from MIT Academy of Engineering, Pune, Maharashtra and representing India in Mobile Robotics category, showcasing India’s prowess in the technology field. Meshram is in his final year at the institute.
Varun Hanumanth Gowda and T Anand Kumar representing India in Mechatronics. Kumar already has a bronze from the Asia Pacific Skill Contest 2015.
These are just some of the competitors representing India and have even received encouragement from Skill India mission brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar and Deepa Malik, double medal winner at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, who sent video messages. Devendra Jhajharia, the first India Paralympian to win two gold medals at Paralympics and RehanPoncha, Arjuna Awardee and 5 times national champion in swimming met the contestants and shared experiences and input on representing India at the highest level.
If the chance to compete in their field and represent the country against the rest of the world was not enough, the candidates also get awards and prizes from the government and WorldSkills partners and sponsors. The international exposure and training also significantly add to their skill-set, which they bring back to enrich the industry at home. The additional skill set and experience also enables them to attain leadership roles in their respective industries.
