India Skills Kerala 2018 Turns Out a Platform for Student Volunteers from ITIs

KOCHI:
‘India Skills Kerala 2018’, an arena for celebrating world class excellence in skills and a venue to the youngsters to showcase their functional and vocational skills, has also turned out to be a platform for students from the Industrial Training Institute (ITI), who enrolled as volunteers for the event.
The thee-day event, jointly organised by Industrial Training Department and Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE), the nodal agency of the state government’s Skill Development Mission, concludes today. In all, 88 boys and 24 girls , all from the Government ITI and the Government ITI for Women at Kalamassery, have volunteered for the event, which saw youth from the length and breadth of the state vying for honours in 20 trades.
Students from all the ITIs across the state are provided free entry in the festival venue at Marine Drive, Kochi.
The event also marked special with the presence of 1st Year and 2nd Year MBA students as Shadow Resources from The Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS). The 25 volunteers from KITTS extended a warm hospitality to the chief guests, including the Chief Minister at the event. They had undergone the training program on Guest Relations conducted by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
The volunteership was allotted based on the trade and subject each student belongs to, so as to ensure that each one of them was well trained in the duties assigned to them.
“Most of the 20 trades present here at the event are there in ITIs, so it was a great opportunity for the ITI students to witness and study the event, either as participants or as volunteers. These students can influence other ITI students and make way for greater participation by the Industrial Training Institutes. They will also feel a sense of ownership that could enhance their skills and trainings,” said Dr. Sriram Venkitaraman, Director for Training & Managing Director, KASE.
“With each new volunteer activity comes training. These skills may seem basic or trivial at the time of training, but may also provide building blocks for future success. We are immensely happy to be a part of this event and provide such opportunities for the students,” says K S Dharmarajan, Additional Director of Industrial Training Department and the State NSS Program Coordinator.
“The volunteership presents exciting new learning opportunities and enriching experiences for the students. The benefits to volunteering here are endless. They are the talented ones selected from the others. In this platform they can work and learn according to their trade,” says Rajappan P.K, Principal of Government ITI, Arakuzha.
Another interesting feature of the event was the presence of 1st and 2nd year MBA students from the prestigious Kerala Institute Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) as Shadow Resources.