Education ecosystem fully equipped to make youth future-ready: Pradhan

Most of the jobs in coming years will lie in the domain of new technologies and India's education and skill ecosystems are fully oriented to make the country's youth future-ready to dominate the world of jobs, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said here on Thursday.

India is set to lead the world in terms of the working age population in the next 25-30 years and the eyes of the entire world are set on the Indian youth, said the Union minister of education, skill development and entrepreneurship while addressing a seminar at the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

The government, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), is diligently working on fostering greater synergy between education and skill. There are no two views that the country needs to foster and develop a proficient and skilled workforce capable of fostering the nation's advancement and prosperity, he said.

Mastery of digital skills is now more crucial than ever before. There is an imperative need to make our youth future-ready to dominate the world of jobs, he said while addressing the seminar on 'Building Workforces for Future: Development of Skills for Industry 4.0'.

Pradhan said that since most of the future jobs lie in the domain of new technologies, there is a need to know their impact on the knowledge and skills of the youth in the 21st century. Our entire education and skill ecosystems are fully oriented to make their contribution in making our youth future-ready, he added.

Under PM Modi's leadership, Pradhan said, the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship has initiated a mission to skill, reskill and upskill our workforce, preparing them for the Viksit Bharat @2047 (developed India by 2047), he said.

The objective is to equip our youth and industries with the competence required for a global platform. Our Skill India Digital' platform is becoming a major interface between the skilled workforce and the industry, Pradhan said.

The Union minister further said that Indian industries and businesses are today adequately supported by 5G digital drive, with the digital public infrastructure playing the role of a great enabler.

To realise Viksit Bharat by 2047, Pradhan said, everyone will have to contribute, more particularly the youth. With this belief, the government aims to connect every youth with the action plan of a Viksit Bharat. It is through sabka prayas' (everyone's efforts) that Viksit Bharat will materialise in 2047," he added.

Pradhan said that each state must make its "humble" contribution to achieve this, with Gujarat, which has taken significant strides in developing a resilient and vibrant economy over the past two decades, perhaps leading the world.

Apart from being a national leader across various sectors, the state has emerged as one of the most preferred investment destinations. Today the entire world talks about the Gujarat model of development, Pradhan said.

Gujarat's development journey is characterised as development-oriented, inclusive and participative, with the biggest strength of the Gujarat model being women-led development, he said.