Industry hails TDP govt’s decision to conduct skill census in Andhra
The census will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the workforce, which will help the State attract investments and take it to the next level, says experts
Visakhapatnam: The decision by the new TDP-led NDA Government in Andhra Pradesh to conduct a skill census to identify the skill gaps has been hailed by the representatives from various domains as a revolutionary first of its kind initiative in India.
They feel that the census will identify the strengths and weaknesses so that the potential for investments could be showcased effectively and help take Andhra Pradesh to the next level in the next few years as per the call made by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
J Srinivasa Raju, AP unit chairman of Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers and CII defence and aerospace panel chairman, told Bizz Buzz that once skill mapping is done, it will identify the strengths and gaps so that corrective steps are taken to ensure industry-ready personnel.
While India is good at providing talented manpower in the space and aerospace domain, there is huge potential to create required skills in sub-sea, ROB and cable-laying areas. There is an aim to convert the country into a $30 trillion economy. Hence, personnel specialising in the security field is most essential. The skills need to be dynamic and not static. Artificial intelligence is donning an important role everywhere. "We need to make use of it wherever possible," he said. With Visakhapatnam emerging as a strategic centre for the Indian maritime sector, a lot of opportunities will be there for underwater domain and warfare technologies, Srinivasa Raju stated.
"The decision to conduct a skill census is a wonderful initiative. It will not only offer several opportunities for improving the skills of youth, planning could be done in advance for industry-academy connections to roll out job-ready youth. For career progression also, it will help many to acquire new skills for getting better offers," said RL Narayana, Centre Head, WNS Global Services.
"This will help in bringing investments based on availability of manpower so that the investors need not to suffer for want of required manpower," Narayana said.
According to Sreedhar Kosaraju, chairman and founder of DeepTech Naipunya Foundation formed to improve job quotient across Andhra Pradesh in the deeptech domain, skill census is a great initiative by the Andhra Pradesh Government and much needed to identify the skill gaps. "The lack of necessary skills is a major challenge faced by the digital technology industry. Which skills are most relevant to the industry today? And which ones will be crucial tomorrow? The skill census is the first step towards addressing this gap. We hope this initiative will be a game-changer in creating a huge talent pool in Andhra Pradesh," he remarked.
He said many are excited with the launch of the skill census being introduced in Andhra Pradesh. "This ground-breaking effort aims to identify and catalogue the skills of individuals across the State. The initiative is designed to enhance productivity by ensuring people receive appropriate training based on their identified skills, thus making them more employable and boosting overall workforce efficiency," he stated. Kosaraju, MD & CEO of NimaiSoft said the skill census is not just about cataloguing existing skills but also about creating new opportunities for the unemployed youth of Andhra Pradesh. "By assessing the skill sets possessed by individuals and addressing any gaps, we aim to enable greater employability and drive economic growth," he pointed out.
