India Skills Kerala 2018: Participants Find it a Novel and Game-changing Experience

KOCHI:
Hundreds turned out for India Skills Kerala 2018, the three-day event, which is jointly organized by Industrial Training Department and Kerala Academy for Skill Excellence (KASE) at Marine Drive, Kochi.
Retired Mechanic Gangadharan was in awe when he visited the event. “This gave me an idea how future generation is going to work in this industry. It is totally inspirational,” he said. D Madhu, a retired banker who visited out of curiosity, said he found it ‘a novel experience’. “I would say novel as well as a learning experience. It has been organized very systematically,” he added.
Subheksha, a biotechnology student, said the platform has immensely helped her in getting an understanding on what holds for her in the future. “Every stall has something to test and assess,” she pointed out.
A total of 112 participants are testing their skill in competitions in 20 trades ranging from carpentry, painting, plumbing, refrigeration and air conditioning to fashion technology, electronics, welding, bakery and restaurant service in the biggest skill and excellence fair the state has ever seen.
They were selected from 7422 participants from the competitions held earlier at the district and zonal levels. The winner will get Rs 1lakh as prize money while the runner-up will get Rs 50,000. Consolation prizes will be given to the participants, who entered the state-level competitions.
The state-level winners will represent Kerala at the ‘India Skills 2018’ planned in July, which will pave the way for their participation in the 45th world Skills Competition at Kezan, Russia next year.