IndiaSkills

IndiaSkills – India’s biggest skill competition and beyond  

One may be privy to the definition of skill but may not understand the way a skill competition can change lives. IndiaSkills is a competition that not only enables discovery of skilled youth from the remotest pockets of the country but exposes them to global standard of skilling and raises their profile and recognition. NSDC, under the guidance of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, concluded IndiaSkills 2021 National Competition on 10 January, with an overarching ‘Skill India’ mission. Over 150 winners (62 gold, 76 silver and 54 bronze) were felicitated and 79 medallions of excellence were awarded for performances in 54 skills such as bakery, welding, beauty therapy, mobile robotics, landscape gardening, automobile technology, cyber security, among others.

Highlights of IndiaSkills 2021 National Competition

• Abilympics – Skill Demonstration by Persons with Disabilities

  The competition featured Abilympics, a demonstration of skills by Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), in 16 skills including computer programming, painting, embroidery, poster designing and photography. With such participation, IndiaSkills has the potential to reach the grass-root level and is a major step towards bridging the gap between the demand and supply of a skilled workforce.

• Demonstration Skills

  IndiaSkills 2021 introduced three new skills—yoga, shoe making (leather) and garment making (leather)—under the demonstration category. These skills were exhibited to showcase competition as well as career opportunities for candidates in these sectors.

• New-Age Skills

  Seven new-age skills—robot systems integration, additive manufacturing, digital construction, industry 4.0, renewable energy, mobile applications development, and industrial design technology—were introduced to this year's competition, keeping pace with the emerging technologies.

• Women Participation

  IndiaSkills not only offers a platform to transform the lives of the youth but provides equal opportunities. Plumbing & heating skill witnessed participation by a female candidate for the first time ever. Landscape gardening skill had two all-women teams. Visual merchandising was female dominated too. Mobile robotics also saw a team of two girls. As we progress as a society, women are breaking stereotypes and participating in all kinds of skills. Periodic Labour Force Survey (PFLS) data suggests that participation of women in the workforce is as low as 22% and, if women do not get opportunities, it impacts the economic growth of the country. IndiaSkills Competition offers a level-playing field to all.

• Industry supporting IndiaSkills

  The event received tremendous response from the industry and partner institutes who supported by providing state-of-the-art infrastructure and met equipment need for skill training of candidates during workshops, boot camps and the competitions.

• Partner Institutes

  The partner institutes who supported the IndiaSkills 2021 National Competition included Maruti Suzuki India, Larsen & Toubro, Festo India, The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Toyota India, Central Board of Irrigation & Power (CBIP), Koncept Mahindra, Academy of Pastry & Culinary Arts, Government Tool Room & Training Centre (GTTC), Karnataka German Technical Training Institutes (KGTTI), Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association (IMTMA), Bengaluru and ICT Center of Excellence, Mumbai. IndiaTV News was the media partner and Playtonia was the gaming partner.

• Journey from IndiaSkills to WorldSkills

  IndiaSkills 2021 National Competition (from 7 to 9 January) was conducted following four Regional Competitions that were held in East (Patna), West (Gandhinagar), North (Chandigarh) and South (Visakhapatnam) during October-December. Participants for regionals were selected through competitions organised at the district and state levels between August and September 2021, which recorded over 2.5 lakh registrations. The winners of IndiaSkills 2021 Nationals will undergo rigorous training to represent India at WorldSkills Shanghai, China to be held in October 2022.

• WorldSkills Shanghai 2022 – The Ultimate Goal

  The 46th WorldSkills Competition will be held from 12 to 17 October 2022, in Shanghai, China. The competition will gather 1,400 youth, representing over 60 countries, who will compete in 60 skills. The event will take place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai.