A one-day Skill Development workshop organised by the Department of Technical Education and Skill Development, Ladakh to raise awareness among youths on the skill development opportunities was inaugurated by Lieutenant Governor, R K Mathur on March 27 at Sindhu Sanskriti Kendra, Leh.
 
Speakers and experts from different fields shared their experiences and opportunities in various sectors such as solar technology, apparel, and home furnishing, entrepreneurship, food processing, and tourism, etc. 
 
R.K. Mathur apprised the participants that the objective of the workshop is to understand the aspirations of Ladakhi youths and help them develop skills with certification to help them get employment or start their ventures.  
 
Giving the example of South Korea, he said, “94% of the population in Korea is skilled. To replicate it, we have to develop the society of Ladakh by segregating the youth into different groups as per their interest. For this purpose, we need your support in recognizing the skills you have so that we could provide certification. By acquiring the skills you can work within Ladakh, within the country, and even abroad.”
 
L-G said that the skill development program will not only benefit youths from Ladakh but will also help UT Administration in understanding the unemployment situation in Ladakh so that necessary steps will be taken based on suggestions from the youth. 

He stressed on commercial cultivation of high-value products in the primary sectors, including agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, dairy, handloom, handicraft, and wool products, which are profitable job avenues for Ladakhi youth. Reiterating that Ladakhi youth are professional, articulate, and talented, Lt Governor Mathur urged them to work hard to capitalize on the opportunities. He stated that UT Administration and both the Hill Councils would support them in their endeavors.

Secretary, Skill Development Department, Padma Angmo, briefed the participants about the skill development workshop and said that its main objective is to expose the students to different kinds of skills.

She informed the participants that experts from solar technology, filmmaking, electrician, food processing, tourism, apparel, and entrepreneurship would speak about different skills during the workshop. 

Padma Angmo further added that the Department of Skill Development would plan a UT-based skill development programme as per inputs from the youth and the demand of youth from the region.

The resource persons for the workshop were Shakeer Hussain and Gurmet Angmo from Global Himalayan Expeditions, who spoke on electrifying villages with solar energy; filmmaker Stanzin Jigmet from Pixel, who spoke on exploring media and entertainment; Sundeep Chhabra, national head of Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council (THSC), who spoke on tourism-the present and future; Ankur Chauhan, Manager of Food Industry Capacity and Skill Initiative (FICSI) spoke on food processing opportunities in Ladakh; Nikhil Malhotra, Assistant Director of Apparel Made-Ups & Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHFSSC) spoke on apparel & home-what and how; and DK Singh from National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD spoke on becoming entrepreneurs.

Tashi Gyalson, CEC, Hill Council, Leh said, “Only the skilled and specialized person can get the benefit of the growing market, therefore it becomes very important to skill our youth”.
 
He said, “I hope such workshops will equip our youth with the emerging skills. New Ladakh has new challenges, and the youths of Ladakh hold bigger responsibilities. Many opportunities are coming up and we must have some sort of skills to grab those opportunities”.
 
CEC, Leh requested youths from Ladakh to engage themselves in developing specialized skills rather than looking for government jobs. 
 
Shrikant Balasaheb Suse, DC, Leh in his welcome speech said that the workshop will equip youths of Leh district. He also talked about the recently formed District Level Skill Committee will make a comprehensive skill development plan for the entire district.
 
Meanwhile, Advisor Ladakh, Umang Narula; Secretary, Employment, Ravinder Kumar also spoke on the occasion.