The Karnataka Skill Development Corporation (KSDC), in association with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), has launched the Karnataka Skill Connect Portal (KSCP), an integrated web platform to connect the State’s talent ecosystem with various job prospects and skilling opportunities.
Created in consultation with industry stakeholders, the portal will address their concerns first hand. Insights from established companies and up-and-coming startups 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.
The portal offers innovative features such as video resume, psychometric and technical assessment, career guidance through one-on-one mentoring sessions and webinars, as well as an aspiration engine to provide a skill-gap analysis. Industry-relevant courses through e-Kaushalya, the learning management system, and partnerships with Infosys Springboard, Microsoft, IBM, Hitachi and so on are also significant features. Apprenticeship for ITI candidates, and internships for students are also available.
Commenting on the unprecedented scope of the portal, C N Ashwath Narayan, minister for IT & BT, science & technology, higher education, skill development, entrepreneurship & livelihood, Government of Karnataka, said, “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.”
The launch of the portal is part of Karnataka’s celebration of ‘Good Governance Month’ in December, to mark the birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister of India, Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Basavaraj Bommai, chief minister of Karnataka was present at the occasion, along with 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.
According to S.Selvakumar IAS, principal secretary to the government, skill development, entrepreneurship and livelihood department, Karnataka is now in a position to provide talent 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, envisions “10 million opportunities across jobs, internships, and paid openings in the coming years”. He said, “ 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, is sure that “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”. In addition to “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, “By encompassing the entire industry—from aspirants to universities to hirers to training providers—the portal will offer solutions for the complete talent ecosystem”.
Saba Karim, India head, academics and government vertical at LinkedIn reiterated that “a fast-paced economy such as ours needs a skilled digital workforce. Upskilling will help create efficient labour markets in the long run.”
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