The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajasthan organised an ITI Olympiad with Bhartiya Skill Development University Jaipur as its knowledge partner. Winners of the Olympiad were today awarded by Mr. Naveen Jain (IAS), Secretary, Deptt. of Labour, Skill, Employment & Entrepreneurship and Commissioner, Labour, Govt of Rajasthan and Dr. (Brig.) Surjit Singh Pabla, Vice Chancellor, BSDU. 89 students selected from all over Rajasthan after district and divisional rounds participated in the final round of the ITI Olympiad. The top three students in each of the five different streams were awarded with prizes; moreover, Dr. (Brig.) Surjit Singh Pabla announced that BSDU will waive off their tuition fees incase they join BSDU for B.Voc.

Rajasthan ranks second in India in Polytechnic and ITI institutes. Whereas, the state is ranked number 1 in skill development. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Govt. of Rajasthan wants to promote skill development in the state through this Olympiad. In Government and Private ITI institutes, Electrician, Welding, and Fitting are the most popular courses in Engineering. Whereas, COPA (Computer Operating and Programming Assistant) and Cutting and Sewing are the most popular in non-engineering branches.

Dr. (Brig.) Surjit Singh Pabla, Vice Chancellor, BSDU, said, “We are extremely honoured to be hosting the ITI Olympiad on behalf of the Rajasthan Government. Through this Olympiad, we are hoping to bring the focus towards skill-based education as the best career prospect which can help the students develop professional career paths into their chosen skill sets. Along with waiving off the tuition fees for the top three students in each category, we are also waiving off the tuition fees for girls with 75% or above and for boys with 80% and above marks in their ITI exams.”

The ITI Olympiad winners are:

Mr. Naveen Jain (IAS), Secretary, Deptt. of Labour, Skill, Employment & Entrepreneurship and Commissioner, Labour, Govt of Rajasthan said, “There is a huge gap between skill and education in India right now. Skill workers here are not appropriately educated, whereas educated people are not versed in skills. A bridge needs to be created between skill and education. To do this, skill courses should be introduced in school and college curriculum, wherein students can get diplomas in skill development along with their degrees. Youngsters these days want jobs, but not work; this needs to change. This change can be affected through skill development, which will further help tackle unemployment.”

Bhartiya Skill Development University is a university which is working towards bringing excellence to the skill development environment in India by providing proper training, quality infrastructure, and well-designed curriculum to students and making them skilled by training them to be ready to compete at international levels. Students get trained under experts and gain experience of working properly with machinery. The university provides practical training to students and follows the 1 student-1 machine concept to give each individual better training. BSDU works towards providing students training for the industry and encourages them to build a career using skills.