Effort Must be to Strengthen Entreprenurial Muscle; Kris

Kris Gopalakrishnan was recollecting his cherished memories at his school and college days at Trivandrum. During his time of education schools were just a place to teach and he had to relearn everything to joining the corporate world. He lauded the initiative of ASAP. He pointed out the

importance being flexibility in the syllabus. As the technology is vigorously upgrading day by day, it will be a challenge to keep in flow with this change. A job which is relevant today may disappear tomorrow. Flexibility, constant adaptation and continuous feedback are the needs of this time to sustaining this programme. As every technology is now attached with computer/IT, feeling comfortable in IT is very important. Sri. Kris suggested including basics of Programming concepts in IT module that will enable students to remain updated with the industry. He emphasized entrepreneurship initiatives as a sustainable concept. ASAP must promote entrepreneurship among students by providing governmental aid that will create large employment opportunities. Delivering Keynote address at the ASAP Convocation Ceremony as the Chief Guest, he congratulated all the students who had gone through the programme and the entire team of ASAP for the passion and vision.

ASAP benchmarks employability skills

Shri. G. Vijayaragavan, Member State Planning Board viewed ASAP as a model skill development initiative happening in our country. The success of ASAP lies in the dedicated team work and active participation of stakeholders. Constant reviewing and corrective measures have played a key role in the successful implementation of the programme. ASAP has managed to gain confidence of the Government, as the system itself categorize outgoing students of Kerala as those who are with ASAP Certificate and others without ASAP Certification. He highlighted that students who had gone through the programme is having an advantage of additional skills that help them to acquire a better job. He observed that ASAPians will be able to find a better job faster than others. Shri Vigayaraghavan congratulated the students and the entire ASAP team.
Convocation Address: ASAP

ASAP emerges as a trend setter in Skilling

The fact which makes ASAP different is the vision which the team is constantly upholding.Shri. Nandakumar mentionedthat ASAP stands different from skill development programmes in the country where myriad initiatives failed to sustain due to quality of delivering. Emphasizing on the opinion made by Chief Guest regarding entrepreneurship, Shri Nandakumar added that students who are capable and willing to start a new organization, having the ability to bear the risks must be encouraged and promoted. He also expressed his concern in the attitude of parents who shows hesitation in including their students in the programme. He added that ASAP will continue to be the most successful programmes on which state can be proud. 

(Felicitation Address by Shri. N Nandakumar IAS, Director Collegiate Education at the Convocation Ceremony of ASAP)

Communication Skill; Yardstick for employability

Shri Michael King expressed his view that in an increasingly globalized market education along with vocational training in various sectors and developing communication skills is required to sustain. He congratulated the policy makers and officials of the government of Kerala for identifying this need and implementing ASAP as a remedial solution. Also, he noted that the British Council is proud to associate with ASAP by providing online language assessment through APTIS test. 

A valid tool which measures language skill is important for institutions, potential employers and individuals. As more and more students are assessed, a database is being built. If ASAP becomes the precursor of this programme across India, they can also be done across the country. In a way, it can compare, analyze and evaluate to contribute for the better planning of future. Shri Michael King congratulated the students.
(Shri. Michael King, Director, British Council at the Convocation Ceremony of ASAP)

ASAP committed to develop Kerala as a Skill hub; Reju IAS

ASAP committed to develop Kerala as a Skill hub; Reju IAS

Almost 1.25 lakh students in our state is being skilled as part of initiatives like ASAP and
other government projects this year. This itself provides immense opportunities for prospective entrepreneurs in skilling. ASAP is committed to render service to any players who are willing to work for the development of our system. It envisions an incubation platform for such enterprising individuals and agencies.

 However, ASAP is not compromising quality in delivery as adhering to NSQF (National Skill Quality Framework) and National Occupational Standards (NOS). Dr.MT Reju IAS CEO ASAP was addressing CONNECT 2015. CONNECT is a workshop designed by ASAP in association with Kerala Academy for Skill Excellence (KASE), National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to provide an opportunity to develop, equip and engage prospective Training Service Providers with the support systems so as to run Skill Development initiatives both at state and national level.

ASAP a positive trend: Minister

The Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) has brought about a positive change in schools and colleges in the State in the past three years, Minister for Education P.K. Abdu Rabb has said.
He was speaking ahead of inaugurating Seek’15 (Skill Enterprise Engagement for Empowering Kerala), a two-day meet organised by ASAP, an initiative of the departments of Higher Education and General Education in the State, here on Wednesday.

Pivotal role

The summit, Mr. Rabb said, would play a pivotal role in the development of a skill policy for the State.
The Minister said he always heard from policymakers about how the skill gap was affecting the ability to remain competitive. In Kerala, unemployment was swelling despite the presence of a rich talent pool.
To counter this, ASAP had been developed to impart sector-specific skills to create a pool of youth ready for the job market.

New challenges

With time, new challenges such as formulating operation guidelines for the proposed community skills parks, clearer understanding of integration of the skill process with university curriculum, and encouraging entrepreneurial leadership were emerging, the Minister said.
Delivering the keynote address, State Planning Board vice-chairman K.M. Chandrasekhar said a mechanism for skill development was in place in the State but many gaps remained to be filled.
Emphasising close coordination with the industry, he said if its needs were not kept in the mind, the programme would die.
Focus should not be on numbers, but on quality, Mr. Chandrasekhar said. Targets should relate to what people needed. There was also need for constant evaluation, he said. ASAP should foster confidence building and entrepreneurship and respect for blue-collar jobs, he said.
He also called for bringing all aspects related to skill development under one umbrella.
B. Srinivas, Secretary, Higher Education; V.S. Senthil, Additional Chief Secretary, General Education; and M.T. Reju, CEO, ASAP, were present on the occasion.

The Retail Sales work force and the unnoticed potential

The Retail Sales work force and the unnoticed potential

The Retail HR Conclave organized by the Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) and the Retailers Association’s Skill Council of India (RASCI) was aimed at creating an awareness on skill development in retail sector, and to deliberate on emerging job roles, skill deficit and demand, internship and traininng venues, placemnet opportunities, innovative practices, and various other opportunities and challenges in the sector connecting to Human resourcece. ASAP considers role of industry as crucial thereby in the forefront to strengthening the Industry relationship. The first Retail Conclave organized by ASAP was witnessed by the participation of delegates from human resource domain of retail industry.


The Conclave started by 10.30. Ms. Ambili E. Kurian Senior Programme Manager - Retail Sector welcomes the participants. Mr. Ravi Deecee, CEO, DC Books & Chairman, Retail Business Advisory Committee, ASAP presided over the function. Inviting attention to the skill deficit in the retail sector, he emphasized on collective intervention to bridge the gap. Rather than big retail chains, independent stores are the unique feature of the retail sector of Kerala. Thus skill is of great need especially in the entry level. The need of the hour is making the sector aspirational and creating more learning spaces; said Mr. Ravee. Further, it is important to create surplus trainers and to ensure their quality.

We have limited best practices to be adopted because of shortcoming in the training and short tenure of employment. However the importance of retails sales work force cannot be ignored. Online retail is an emerging area with immense scope for exploitation in the context of skill development and job opportunities. Mr. Ravee alluded for opening more onshore training spaces and internship opportunities for aspirants in the retails industry. Turing work space to learning space is a worth implementing practice. Along with undergraduate courses, possibilities for degree level courses in retail sector also to be explored. He also stressed on the vast opportunities in entrepreneurial aspects of retail business.