SRINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 17: Principal Secretary, School Education Department and Skill Development, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon today asked the Deputy Commissioners to step up Skill Development program in the district to enable maximum youth to obtain skills with high employability potential in the market. Dr Samoon was chairing a meeting to review the Skill Development Sector in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was attended by Director, Skill Development, Sajad Hussain; Director, J&KEDI, G M Dar; Director, Industries Kashmir, Mahmood Ahmed Shah; Director, Handicraft/Handloom, Mussarat ul Islam; Managing Director, JKSDM, Peer Ghulam Nabi besides senior officers of concerned department were also present in the meeting. The Deputy Commissioners and Jammu based officers attended the meeting through video conferencing. During threadbare discussions, the Principal Secretary sought detailed reports about measures and action taken by the concerned authorities of Skill Development and district administration regarding implementation of Skill Development plan. The Principal Secretary said that the government has explored new ways of reaching out to youth to provide skilling opportunities at their doorsteps and also imparted training on leadership organizational development and stress management programs, and roped in various academicians and industry experts to ensure smooth and effective implementation of the programs. The Principal Secretary said that the batch/phase wise training created awareness among youth about new trends as well as opportunities available in market and the skills required to complete for such opportunities. He said that the motive of the programme was to provide the best training and exposure to the youth at doorsteps and in achieving the goal, JKSDM affiliated training centres played a pivotal role in ensuring quality delivery of training. Dr Samoon also said that to make productive use of the time available with people during the lockdown, the Mission initiated its online “Covid-19 Lets SKILL IT” programme with the aim to engage with youth, inculcate in them a positive outlook and provide them opportunities to learn new skills or upgrade their existing skill sets. On the occasion, the Principal Secretary also released a booklet of Skill Development Department along with other dignitaries. Later, Dr Samoon also conducted a meeting through video conferencing to interact with the heads of Skill Training Centres across the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir imparting skilling under Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). He said that the guidelines in this regard have been issued by the MHA and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI for re-opening of these centres by 21st September, 2020. While taking detailed reports of these centres, the Principal Secretary asked the heads of the centres to ensure for timely re-opening of the Skill Training Centres in the Jammu and Kashmir. MD, JKSDM, Director, Skill Development were also present in the meeting and also interacted with the heads of the Skill Training Centres.
