The 45th WorldSkills, a global skills competition dubbed as 'Olympics of Skills', will begin in Kazan, Russia on Thursday with skilled professionals from India also competing in the event.
India, which aspires to be the 'Skill Capital' of the world, will participate in the event with a contingent of 48 skilled young professionals.
Team India will compete in 44 skill segments including mobile robotics, prototype modelling, confectionery and patisserie, welding, floristry at the about week-long biennial competition, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) that leads the India contingent said here.
Most of the competitors, whose average age is 22, come from a very humble background from tier-2 or tier-3 cities in India.
Parents of about 35 per cent of team members are either employed in agriculture sector or work as daily wage earners.
"Competition brings out the best in individuals, and as you match your skills against the finest professionals from around the world, I urge you to let the competitive spirit push yourselves to newer heights," NSDC Chairman AM Naik, who is also the group chairman of engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro, told the young professionals.
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In an interview to PTI earlier this year, Naik had said that he devotes around 30 per cent of his time for the responsibility assigned to him by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Chairman of National Skill Development Corporation.
Dharavath Naresh, a 21-year-old from Banjara village of Jangaon district in Telangana, and 22-year-old Amit Yadav from Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, trained by L&T are part of the Indian contingent that will compete with about 1,500 competitors from 60 countries in 56 skill contests at this mega event.
"My family in the village is too simple to understand the achievement of going to any international competition. For them, I am doing a job and they are happy that I am earning a livelihood," Naresh, whose annual family income is Rs 65,000, told PTI.
These two young professionals, who are competing for a skill segment of concrete construction work, were spotted and trained by L&T for over a year.
"I joined L&T's Construction Skill Training Institute (CSTI) last year. Seeing my potential, they started training me for various skills competitions," Yadav, whose annual family income is Rs 48,000, told PTI.
L&T-CSTIs provide skills training to youth from underprivileged, economically backward background at no cost.
There are nine such L&T-run CSTIs across eight states that provide free training courses in construction skills such as turning, fitting and concrete slab making, since 1994.
In 2018-19, 8,769 youth completed various courses at L&T CSTIs, the company said in its annual report.
Amit and Naresh had secured fourth position at the World Skill Russia Competition where young professionals from 23 countries competed in May 2019.
Amit and Naresh had also won silver medals at the India Skill competition, gold medals at the North India Regional Competition and are hoping to stage a better performance at the Olympics of Skills in Kazan.
Besides, the desire to excel in the trades of their choice has played a crucial part in the candidates realising their dream of performing at global stage.
Mohammed Rabith from Malappuram, Kerala is one such example of grit and determination. The 22-year-old, whose father works as a coolie and mother is a homemaker, aims to make his parents and his country proud by winning the gold medal in wall & floor tiling skill at the WorldSkills.
The selection of Team India for WorldSkills 2019 began in January 2018 with the roll out of a scheme on IndiaSkills Competitions, NSDC said.
Earlier, while flagging off team India, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey had said: "My advice to you is to compete in the true spirit of participation and make India proud on the global platform and at the same time learn from your international peers competing with you.
"You are the brand ambassadors of India and your victory will be an inspiration for every Indian youth who aspires to make it big in their life."
Participating at events of such scale adds to the larger cause of skill development which is integral to Prime Minister Modi's vision of a Skilled India.
More than 22 states collaborated and organised close to 500 district and state level competitions between March and April 2018.
The winners at these events competed at four regional competitions organised in Jaipur, Lucknow, Bangalore and Bhubaneswar to take part at the National Competition organized in October 2018 in New Delhi.
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