The Karnataka Skill Development Corporation (KSDC), in association with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), launched the Karnataka Skill Connect Portal (KSCP), an integrated web platform connecting the entire talent ecosystem in the state with various employment prospects and skilling opportunities.
The portal’s inauguration marks the Government of Karnataka’s celebration of ‘Good Governance Month’ in December in observance of the birthday of the former Prime Minister of India, Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri Basavaraj Bommai, and Dr C. N. Ashwath Narayan, Minister for Higher Education; Electronics, IT & BT, Science & Technology; Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, presided over the event in the presence of industry leaders and partners at the Vidhana Soudha.
The revamped portal has innovative features such as video resume, psychometric and technical assessment, career guidance through one-on-one mentoring sessions and webinars, aspiration engine to provide a skill gap analysis. Industry-relevant courses through e-Kaushalya, our learning management system, and partnerships with Infosys Springboard, Microsoft, IBM, Hitachi and many more. Apprenticeship for ITI candidates, and internships for students are also available.
Commenting on the accomplishment, Dr. C N Ashwath Narayan, Minister for IT & BT, Science & Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, Government of Karnataka said, “The portal’s scope is unprecedented and will be a massive factor in the state’s digital economy push. KSCP will stimulate jobs and drive new investments across Karnataka’s entire industry spectrum while helping various stakeholders assess their strengths, capabilities, and problem areas in an open, enabling environment that values learning and development. This, in turn, will propel technological progress and consolidate our valuable start-up culture and fame as an innovation hotspot. The portal will support around 65 thousand engineering students in obtaining internship opportunities.”
Dr S.Selvakumar IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Department, spoke of the portal’s significance: “Karnataka has always been blessed with exceptional talent. We can now provide them with more straightforward access to opportunities and streamline conversations between them and the industry, helping bridge the demand gap and providing individuals with tools that will shape not just their lives but society and the nation as well.”
Ashwin D Gowda, Managing Director of Karnataka Skill Development Corporation, remarked on the project’s outcomes: “We remain committed to KSDC’s objectives of aiding Karnataka’s youth in line with the national vision for employment. We envision 10 million opportunities across jobs, internships, and paid openings in the coming years. We also hope to see around one lakh candidates undergoing skill assessments while reaching out to 20 million job seekers in the state. The long-term goal is to gradually incorporate all educational institutions in the state to use the portal for job and placement support.”
BV Naidu, Chairman of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, said, “The portal will greatly benefit graduates and job seekers in their career paths by providing clarity and a sense of direction that aspirants might not readily have. There are multiple features for various requirements—besides finding relevant upskilling modules and jobs, candidates can use the intuitive platform to upload their profiles and automatically match with prospective employers, get screened by industry-standard psychometric assessments, and join online discussion forums with other candidates, among other options. The portal is an attempt to improve access of job aspirants all over Karnataka to available jobs and upskilling opportunities.”
Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, added, “We have partnered with KSDC to build a unique tool that will support Karnataka’s education goals. By encompassing the entire industry—from aspirants to universities to hirers to training providers—the portal will offer solutions for the complete talent ecosystem. While hopeful candidates and companies can use various features to connect, academic institutions can also avail services like campus placement management and learner management system to satisfy their requirements. We’re also looking at enhancing the AI/ML capabilities at our disposal to do more in supporting our partners in their journeys in the future.”
The portal was created in consultation with industry stakeholders to first-hand address their concerns. Insights from established companies and up-and-coming start-ups provided the framework for the platform. These entities will contribute to the portal’s supply and demand and ultimately benefit from the portal. LinkedIn, Cisco, and IBM were among the companies present at the launch.
Speaking about public-private partnerships, Saba Karim, India Head, Academics and Govt Vertical at LinkedIn said, “It is heartening to see KSDC and KDEM launch the skill connect portal. A fast-paced economy such as our needs a skilled digital workforce. Upskilling will help create efficient labour markets in the long run. We look forward to contributing to the government’s ambitious plans.”
In Karnataka this year, a slew of activities and initiatives have been planned throughout the month of December to mark ‘Good Governance Month’ and extend the opportunity for effective government-public participation, creating awareness around skill development, entrepreneurship, and livelihood opportunities for the youth of Karnataka. The Skill Connect portal is the first of such initiatives.
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