02 Aug 2020  |   05:13am IST

Prepare youth in addressing COVID challenges, Forum urges State

Team Herald

PANJIM: While government is imparting skill training to the youth through Directorate of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (DSDE), a civic and consumer forum has urged the State to prepare the youth in addressing challenges particularly in context of COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a letter to the DSDE, Director Dipak Desai, GOACAN stated that in the context of the ongoing pandemic and its impacts on Goa, it is very important that department takes the lead in addressing challenges faced by the youth in Goa with regards to the acquisition of skills. 

“It is important that DSDE prepares a road map which should not only take into account the ITIs operating in the State, but also the private institutes registered under the Human Resource Development Foundation Society and the proposed Industry Apprenticeship Initiative to be implemented in the Industry Clusters of Goa. Moreover, as the government is working on an Economic Revival Plan for Goa, it is important that the skill training provided must benefit the youth of Goa during this economic revival,” GOACAN Convenor Roland Martins said. 

“Skills for a Resilient Youth in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond”, is the 2020 theme for World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) observed by the United Nations which is very relevant for Goa and needs to be acted upon, says GOACAN.  

GOACAN’s suggestion included that DSDE initiate a State-wide consultation on Youth Skills for the Economic Revival of Goa in the context of COVID-19 so that all stakeholders’ views can be incorporated, prepare a programme to reach all 12 Talukas of Goa in the next one year so as to assess the skills requirement at the local level and match the training and entrepreneurship options available, etc. 

The long list of recommendations also speaks about directing all government and private Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) to update their websites with the information on the present courses offered and the method of instruction and learning in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Prior to the current crisis, young people aged 15-24 years were three times more likely than adults to be unemployed and often faced a prolonged school-to-work transition period. In post-COVID-19 societies, as young people are called upon to contribute to the recovery effort, they will need to be equipped with the skills to successfully manage evolving challenges and the resilience to adapt to future disruptions,” Martins said.


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