Srinagar: Vice-Chancellor University of Kashmir Prof Talat Ahmad Thursday inaugurated a new vocational training hub—DDU Kaushal Kendra—in the varsity to boost skill development of students in line with the objectives of the National Education Policy-2020.
The Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kaushal Kendra is sponsored by the University Grants Commission to enable knowledge acquisition and upskilling and reskilling of individuals to make them ready for the future jobs.
Presently, two separate B.Voc degrees in Automotive Technology and Electronic Media are being offered at the DDU Kausal Kendra, while two more programmes are in the pipeline.
Asserting that skills hold the key for youth to enter the future job market, Prof Talat said universities will have to take a lead in creating institutional mechanisms to train youth in skills of the future.
Referring to a World Economic Forum’s Future of the Jobs report, he said while current employees would need reskilling in a big way in next few years, it would be impossible for institutions to avoid skill development of youth in areas of the future, including problem-solving, self-management, technology use and development, analytical thinking and innovation.
He said the flagship NEP-2020 lays emphasis on skill development in view of the predicted future scenarios vis-à-vis job market. He congratulated the DDU Kaushal Kendra team for focusing on vocational training programmes.
