New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS): After two years of absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the summit has entered its 15th year of inception. FICCI Skills is proud to have been a pioneer in creating India's largest skill conclave which sees participation from India and abroad. For years we have been discussing pertinent themes like skills and knowledge, emerging skills -- India 2020, Quality Paradigms in Vocational Training, New Age Skills for Today and Tomorrow and many more.

This year the summit would focus on "Education to Employability -- Making It Happen" and discuss key implementable actions that would ease the transition for the youth of our country.

Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has been invited to inaugurate and address the summit. Other eminent speakers include Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Kundan Kumar, Adviser, Skill Development, Labour and Employment -- Niti Aayog, Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi, IAS (retd.), Chairman, NCVET, Ved Mani Tiwari, Chief Operating Officer at National Skill Development Corporation, Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman NETF and former Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

Apart from the International organisations like World Bank, ILO, UNDP, UNICEF, GIZ, UN Women; the summit will see participation from industry leaders from organisations like LinkedIn, Adobe, Mahindra & Mahindra, Schneider Electric, Hindustan Unilever, Salesforce, Skillveri Metaverse & XR Simulations, Amazon, goDiscover, HoodApp, among others.

There will also be discussions on encouraging entrepreneurship, apprenticeship and craftsmanship.

The summit will bring together key stakeholders to deliberate upon strategies and share best practices that helps in developing a 21st century skills ecosystem. With more than 400 participants, the key features of the summit will be panel sessions, masterclasses, Virasat: The Heritage, exposition and B2B meetings.

The summit will take a deeper look at future steps in skilling, changing demand in the job market, existing employment opportunities in India and gainful engagement of entrepreneurs, craftsmen and artisans.

The summit speakers will deliberate on the following:

* Skill development of new generation is a national need. It is the foundation stone for a self-reliant India. What are the key actions that we need to take to seamlessly integrate formal education with vocational education?

* What do government, policymakers, industry, academia, service providers do to reap the demographic dividend before it's too late?

* How do we maximise the engagement with industry to create an industry-led skilling ecosystem in our country? What role can the government play in supporting it?

* Is internationalisation of skilling possible, do we need to consider international colleges/ universities/ training providers as a potential ecosystem partner? If yes, how do we strengthen our engagements with them?

* Supporting entrepreneurs and new businesses, how can government and industry collaborate to support them with the ease of doing business?

* How can apprenticeship support the education to employability transition, does it help in enhancing the employability quotient?

* With national funding on skilling reaching minimal levels, how do we create a sustainable skilling ecosystem that has to move from a government-led push ecosystem to market-led pull ecosystem?