Kerala will create 20 lakh quality jobs over the next five years through an ambitious mission, a senior State government official said as he discussed a strategic paper for turning the State into a knowledge society.

Dr K M Abraham, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said the strategic paper for building a knowledge society was formulated as per the decision taken in the first cabinet meeting after this government came to power.

The Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission of the government aims to provide skills training to students in higher education institutions and enable them to adapt to changing times, he said during a consultation with media early this week.

Democratised platform

The scheme will cover returnees who have lost their jobs abroad, those who have completed their studies here and have not been able to find employment, and those who have had to drop out of school, Abraham said.

The project is expected to cost around ₹6,000 crore over five years.

“A Digital Workforce Management System (DWMS) will be set up as part of the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission. It will be a vast platform comprising of employers, job seekers and various types of trainers. In the private sector, giant employment platforms such as Monster.com and Freelancer.com are already operating internationally. Kerala will seek the help and cooperation of such global agencies for a new employment platform,” Abraham said.

He said the DWMS was not an alternative to the private sector, but a democratisation of opportunities by including those who do not have access to the private sector.

He also said the great idea of a knowledge society would pave the way for the biggest social change to take place in Kerala after the People’s Plan.

The comprehensive strategic paper in this regard was formulated by the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) with the help of various agencies.

Wide ranging consultations

Details of this strategic paper will be discussed and studied by all sections of the people of Kerala, Abraham said. As the first step of this, consultations of the leading media in Kerala were held through an online session on Tuesday.

After discussions with the media, consultations will be held with representatives from various sectors such as the business and academic community, the working class, women’s organisations and student-youth groups. Various agencies such as Digital University, ICT Academy and Kerala Start-up Mission will be part of the project.

Dr Saji Gopinath, Vice-Chancellor, Digital University, said Kerala can make use of options like Work From Home and Work Near Home and create opportunities even during the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence will ensure that candidates gain the skills needed to adapt to market changes. School level interventions will be made for this. Various skill training schemes will also be developed for college teachers, Gopinath said.

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