Nawab Malik announces state’s biggest skill competition IndiaSkills Maharashtra 2021

Mumbai, September 2, 2021:  At a press conference held in Mumbai, Hon’ble Minister for Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Shri Nawab Malik announced that the state’s biggest skill competition – IndiaSkills Maharashtra 2021 is preparing the youth to compete for WorldSkills International Competition that will be held in October 2022 in Shanghai, China.

Shri Nawab Malik also said that the Maharashtra State Skill Competition finals, to be held in 45 skill categories, to be organised from 3 to 5 September at multiple locations across the state. 

Shri Nawab Malik, Minister for Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Maharashtra, expressed, “Maharashtra State Skill Competition gives an opportunity to the youth to participate in next year's World Skills Competition in Shanghai (China). The competition has provided a platform for the youth of the state to showcase their skills.  It is encouraging to see that nearly 20,090 youth from all over the state have participated in the competition. Eligible candidates from each stage will be given free training and cash prizes by the government.” 

The state has received tremendous response for the competition this year, witnessing 20,090 registrations from the youth in the age group of 17-25 years, from all 36 districts. This is an increase of over 700% versus the last state skill competition in 2018, which saw 2,400 registrations. 

Maharashtra’s biggest skill competition has been planned in three-rounds, beginning from level-1 at district level on 17 August. This round was held at various ITIs and training centres across all the districts. Post the second-level round on 23-24 August, 263 participants have qualified for the state-level competition and are undergoing orientation and skill training as per the international standards.  These finalists will now be competing at the state level finale from 3 to 5 September at various skill training academies/centres in Mumbai, Pune and other cities. 
Nearly 100 winners of Maharashtra state skill competition will get a chance to participate at the IndiaSkills 2021 regional competition to be held in September-October and later at the IndiaSkills National Competition in December 2021.
 
The opening ceremony of the state-level competition will be held on 3 September from 3:00 PM, at Don Bosco Industrial Training Institute, Kurla, Mumbai.  The closing ceremony will be organized on Sunday, 5 September, 4:00 pm onwards at ISME School of Management & Entrepreneurship, Lower Parel, Mumbai, where the state-level champions will be awarded with a cash prize and certificate.
 
Maharashtra State Skill Development Society (MSSDS), a nodal agency for implementing the skilling initiatives in the state, under the guidance of the Skill Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department, Government of Maharashtra, has organised Maharashtra state skill competition in 45 skills in 15 high economic growth sectors. These skill competitions have been organised in skill trades such as Floristry, Print Media Technology, Landscape Gardening, Industrial Control, Aircraft Maintenance, IT, Agriculture, among others. 

The winners of IndiaSkills 2021 will further get an opportunity to represent the country at various international skilling competitions, including the WorldSkills.  The equivalent of Olympics in skills, WorldSkills is the world championship of vocational skills, and is held every two years in different parts of the world.  The next edition of WorldSkills International is scheduled to be held in October 2022 in Shanghai, China wherein 60+ countries are expected to participate.

IndiaSkills Competitions are organised by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), an apex skill development organisation working under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).  NSDC has been representing India’s participation in the WorldSkills International Competitions since 2011.  At the WorldSkills International 2019, held in Kazan, Russia, India won one gold and silver medals each, two bronze and 15 Medallions of Excellence. India ranked 13th among 63 countries.