Jaipur,  September 2021.

Participants from all States and Union Territories in India are gearing up to compete at the IndiaSkills Regional Competitions 2021, the biggest showcase event of skills in India. Recently, NSDC concluded the state-level competitions for IndiaSkills and the zonal level competitions will kickstart from October 2021 onwards. The winners from the zonal round will further compete for IndiaSkills National Competition which is scheduled for December 2021.

The winners of IndiaSkills competition will get a chance to undergo best-in-class industry training to prepare for the WorldSkills International Competition scheduled in Sanghai, China on 12-17 October 2022. Called the ‘Olympic of Skills’, WorldSkills is a biennial event that sees participation from all over the world as skilled and talented youth come on a platform to compete for top honors across multiple skills and trades. In the last WorldSkills Competition held at Kazan, Russia, in 2019, India finished 13th out of 63 countries that participated at the global competition. More than 1,350 competitors participated from 63 countries across 56 skills and trades and team India returned with the best-ever finish by winning one Gold, one Silver and two Bronze medals along with 15 Medallions of Excellence across key skills.

Platforms like IndiaSkills and WorldSkills instill a sense of pride in the youth and enables them to see the importance of skilling in today’s day and age. Leading with examples are some of our champions who have made an exemplary mark at IndiaSkills and WorldSkills Championships and are doing well in the professions.

Simoul Alva, from Mumbai, won a Medallion of Excellence in Graphic Design Technology at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi, 2017. Deeply passionate about gender equality, society and women empowerment, Simoul was inspired by the women in her family to believe that she can achieve anything if she puts her heart into it. Today, with her hard work and dedication, Simoul is working as a visual designer, art director and illustrator in New York.

Rohim Momin is the perfect example of “Nothing is impossible if you believe in it”,A school dropout, who represented India at WorldSkills. He was born in a small Khaltipur village in West Bengal. His father struggled to provide basic amenities to his family. His world moved upside down when at the age of 17, he lost both his parents. Bowing to financial insecurity he started working as a labourer to sustain himself. In 2014, to find better opportunities, Rohim moved to Delhi and joined a company as a Mason. After excelling at work for two years, he participated at IndiaSkills at Bricklaying and won a silver medal. Skill India felicitated his training in Pune and then Denmark, encouraging him for competitions ahead. That year, Rohim represented India at WorldSkills, Abu Dhabi & was honored with the Medallion of Excellence. Today, He works as an Assistant Foreman in ATS Infrastructure.

Arun Raj Balasubramani hails from a humble background from Madurai. His parents couldn’t afford his education as the family income was just enough to make ends meet. To support his family and continue his education, Arun started working in an advertising agency at a young age. His dream was to become a graphic designer. He participated in the IndiaSkills Competition 2013 conducted by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). He cleared the regional and national contests during 2012-13 and was among the top three candidates at the national finals. After winning the national finals, Arun represented India at the WorldSkills International 2013 which was held at Leipzig, Germany and made the country proud by winning the ‘Best of the Nation’ and ‘Medallion for Excellence’ badges in the graphic designing category. Arun says, “His life has changed after winning the titles at Leipzig, he is now globally recognized and feels blessed that he had the privilege to inspire so many people.” He added, “Winning global titles not only connected him to the right opportunities but it helped boost his confidence as well.”