JAMMU: In a major initiative aimed at making the population of J&K future-ready for emerging employment opportunities, the Skill Development Department today presented a comprehensive and forward-looking roadmap to Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo to transform the skilling ecosystem of the UT.

The meeting was attended by Vice-Chancellors of local Universities, Director IIM Jammu, Managing Director, J&K Bank, Secretary, Education; MD, Skill Mission and representatives from premier institutions including IIT, NIFT and other reputed academic and professional institutions.

While reviewing the roadmap, the Chief Secretary emphasized the need to explore the concept of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in Jammu & Kashmir for the creation of better and high-quality employment opportunities. He also suggested developing fellowship programmes to create a strong pool of skilled human resources within the UT.

The Chief Secretary appreciated the overall framework of the plan, stating that it incorporates all essential constituents required for skilling different sections of the population, making it inclusive and forward-looking in character.

He, however, stressed that the roadmap should be made more practical, outcome-driven and implementable, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities of all participating institutions, including national-level institutions such as IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, NITs, Universities, SKIMS and other professional institutions.

Emphasising employability, the Chief Secretary called for strengthening industry–academia linkages to ensure greater applicability and job orientation of skilling programmes, making them market-aligned and future-ready.

He further directed that the roadmap be circulated among various stakeholders........

© The Kashmir Monitor News