Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday emphasised on recognising the traditional skill for economic development of the country.

Addressing the inaugural session, of the ‘Odisha Skill Conclave, Dharmendra Pradhan said that all traditional skills need to be formally recognized under Skill Development and proper training needs to be imparted in these work-of-art translating into the further economic growth.

Skill development is a national dialogue and there have been isolated efforts to promote skill development in the State thus far; but it is our endeavour now to join the dots and have a concrete, comprehensive and collective effort with respect to skill development, he added.

In line with the Prime Minister’s vision of SabkaSaathSabkaVikas, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship organized Odisha Skill Conclaveat Jatni near Bhubaneswar to define a roadmap to develop Odisha as a skill development & entrepreneurship hub of India.

The two-day event has gathered more than 100 experts, industry veterans, academicians and professionals from skill ecosystem to deliberate on challenges and opportunities for skill development in the state.

National and international organizations like NALCO, Indian Oil, Reliance, ACC, Aditya Birla, InternationalLabor Organization among others assembled at the Conclave to discuss the local complexities of the State, weaving the discussion and integrating them into the national skill ecosystem.

The sessions on day one, highlighted the key challenges and opportunities that exist in the State, identification of cluster/areas with high demand for skills based on investments, credit off-take and mapping geographical areas of economic activities.