'Utkarsh Parbon' 2020 mega job fair was aimed at catering to the need of thousands of trained candidates from South 24 Paraganas district under skill interventions of PBSSD. The event acted as a platform for multiple stakeholders within the technical and vocational education framework to connect under one roof. The principal objective of providing decent employment opportunities to unprivileged strata was addressed considering the inclusive and sustainable development needs of the region. Around 40 participating industry partners made an initial selection of 1171 candidates out of 3162 candidates who registered in the job fair. BCC&I was the Chamber Partner and the event was supported by Beauty & Wellness, SSC and NASSCOM.

Inaugural Ceremony
Sunday, the 16th of February, 2020 witnessed a mesmarising traditional dance form 'Jhoomor' accompanied by Bengali folk orchestra for the auspicious inauguration of Utkarsh Parbon 2020. Honorary Minister of Department of Technical Education, Training & Skill Development, Government of West Bengal along with the South 24 Paraganas District Administration Leadership and other industry leaders commemorated the day with their gracious gesture in lighting lamps for a better tomorrow.

Honorable Minister-In-Charge, Department of Technical Education, Training & Skill Development Shri Purnendu Basu laid emphasis on the importance of the 'Utkarsh Parbon' job fair in integrating all concerned stakeholders in one platform for successful execution of the project. He congratulated the district administration for successfully implementing the Utkarsh Bangla scheme in the district. He also appreciated The Bengal Chamber of Commerce for its contribution.

Hon'ble District Magistrate, Dr. P. Ulaganathan, IAS, shared his insight on successful implementation of the Utkarsh Bangla scheme in South 24 Paraganas. He congratulated every key stakeholders, involved in conducting job fairs, whose contribution has led to massive industry placements of trained candidates. BCC&I Skill Committee Chairman, Mr. Subrata Dutta shared his insights for developing the skill training ecosystem in West Bengal. He laid stress on 4 basic pillars - Skills development organizations, Government institutions, Industry partnerships and Trainee engagement for successful program implementation. He emphasized on the importance of counselling of trainees for enrolling in a training which aligns with their choice and aptitude. He discussed the importance of industry-institute partnerships for making trainees industry ready. Mr. Dutta threw light on the significance of on-job training and hands-on training towards developing employability of trainees. He shared how trainees can benefit from guest lectures from industry resources and laid importance to maintaining strict time frames for course delivery. He suggested the formation of a board of studies by stakeholders among Government institutions and training partners in collaboration with the industry and other relevant third parties to better develop training curriculums and delivery methodologies. He highlighted the gap within the labor market forces and stated that if more and more trainees can be successfully trained and deployed in the industry it would create high impact on the stakeholders.

The inaugural ceremony was closed by felicitating trained candidates, Training Partners and Industry Players who made a mark in successful implementation of the scheme.

Technical Panel Discussion
The inaugural session was followed by technical panel discussion by industry players and Sector Skill Council. Session Moderator Mr. Rahul Bose, an industry resource from IBM, shared grassroot experiences in the technical and vocational education sector and paved way for the panelists to contribute on pressing skill development issues and the 'Recruit-Train-Deploy' (RTD) model. Ms. Kamalini Paul, the Managing Director of De Sovrani Hotel threw light on current macroeconomic indicators and highlighted on the benefit of technical education towards fabricating healthier economic standards. Ms. Paul laid stress on augmenting the managerial approach in the industries to make it more people-centric.

Mr. Subhasish Dutta, Director Mahendra Dutta & Sons, accentuated on the need for augmenting the curriculums to better cater to the human capital need of different industries. Mr. Dutta suggested Industry leaders contributing to the technical lsession at Utkarsh Parbon 2020 developing a targeted framework aimed towards developing human capability as the end objective. The panelists suggested enhancing the present framework of technical and vocational education and improvising delivery methodologies to better serve stakeholders. They congratulated the Government of West Bengal for implementing policies aimed towards fighting pressing in the sectors and proposed for better collaborations among distinct levels to effectuate inclusive and sustainable techniques. Ms. Shreyashi Karmakar, Director S&IB, highlighted important aspects of the present paradigm of skill development training in the country. She emphasized on new economic ideas related to workforce contribution towards India's economic prowess. She suggested new policy interventions for developing more targeted skill development programs which would cater towards addressing India's labor market scarcity. Mr. Subhasish Sarkar from NASSCOM emphasized on the need for a skilled workforce. He discussed the imbalances in the labor market forces and shared ground realities in the IT/ITES sector. He highlighted the need for reskilling and suggested improvisations in skill development training curriculums. Mr. Sumit Bhattacharya, the head of human resources at Marble Box talked about major factors and constraints which an average technical education trainee must possess other than a niche skill set. Mr. Bhattacharya suggested that training partners should incorporate new methodologies which contribute towards developing articulation and computational skill sets among trainees.

Special Address
The 2020 Utkarsh Parbon afternoon was hailed by addresses from Ms. Pauline Laravoire and Mr. Meghdut Roy Chowdhury both senior executives of the Techno India group. Both the speakers focused on incorporating sustainable and inclusive techniques to address socio-economic issues like poverty alleviation and income inequalities. Ms. Pauline emphasized on the need for quality education and the requirement for being industry ready. Mr. RoyChowdhury discussed how a trainee can sustain lifelong livelihood and the importance of reskilling. The speakers laid emphasis of contribution of technical education towards developing socio-economic mobility. They also discussed how such targeted methods of education can increase empowerment among socially backward strata.

The Bengal Chamber also contributed in creating around 1000 jobs during the Job Fair held at the Uttkarsha Parbon.