International Webinar on 'Youth Skills and Employability in the Post Pandemic Scenario'

A two-day international webinar addressing youth employability in the post pandemic scenario was organized by the West Bengal Council of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII) on 24th and 25th September, from 11 AM to 1 PM. This was to inaugurate the Industry-Academia Interface and create awareness among the students regarding the job opportunities and employment scenario in the post-Covid 19 crisis.

The inaugural program 'Medha' was inaugurated by Shri Bratya Basu, Honourable Minister-in-Charge of Higher Education and School Education and the Chairman of the West Bengal State Council of Higher Education with the lighting of the lamp virtually on the Zoom Meet, which was followed by a welcome address by Shri Manish Jain, IAS, Principal Secretary of Higher Education Department, Government of West Bengal.

The Inaugural Address was given by Shri Bratya Basu, followed by the first speaker of the day, Professor Anupam Basu, Director of NIT Durgapur. Professor Basu introduced the concept of Employability with a definition of what "Aspiration" stands for. In his speech, Professor Basu emphasized the importance of both knowledge and skills as necessary elements for employability – "Skills might provide for a day or two, but knowledge stays for a lifetime". The interactive session was followed by a presentation and speech by Dr Moniraj Ghosh, Senior Engineer and Team lead of Intel, the USA and Former Chair of American Chemical Society, North Oklahoma, USA. The concluding remarks came from Mr Pradip Agarwal, Chairman, CII Eastern Region Subcommittee on Education & CEO of the Heritage Group of Institutions. On the 25th of September, the panel discussion began following a welcome address by Ms Bratati Bhattacharyya, Co-Chairperson, CII ER Subcommittee on Education & Secretary-General of Shikshayatan Foundation. Moderated by Mr Narayanan Ramaswami, Partner and Head, Education and Skill Development Practice at KPMG, the speakers focused on the responsibility of the Government and educational institutions in enhancing the employment potential of students through both skills-based and knowledge-based learning. The panel included Professor Saikat Maitra, Honourable Vice-Chancellor of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology; Ms Joyeeta Das, Program Manager of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs Group at IBM; Mr Simarpreet Singh, Director of JIS Group; Dr Neeta Pradhan Das, Head of Strategy and Partnership at Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University; and Mr Pradeep Purohit, Sr. Vice President of Star Cement Limited. The two-day webinar was an enriching experience for the students as they got a clearer view of employment, job facilities and potential across various sectors in West Bengal.