DoT secy asks industry to focus on manpower skilling needs of 5G era

With 5G roll out underway, DoT Secretary K Rajaraman on Monday exhorted the telecom industry, sector skill council, states and various stakeholders to make all-out efforts to enhance and deepen the skilling initiatives that will meet the evolving needs of the sector.

Terming telecom as a crucial sector, Rajaraman noted the “great demand” for skilled manpower in various aspects of digital connectivity, including on network and retail side.

The Telecom Secretary was speaking at an event ‘Telecom vision to 5G skilling’ oganised by Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC).

He emphasised the need for imparting the “right kind of skills”, and asked industry and all stakeholders to collectively find pathways to address the skilling requirements.

The telecom sector requires both high-end and low-end skills, and telecom department is interested in the whole stack, he said.

Rajaraman pointed out that state governments, which are important stakeholders, have a number of programmes for upskilling and reskilling.

“In last few months, we have been able to conduct a number of programmes… One of them is to sensitise all the state governments about the upcoming opportunities in 5G roll out,” he said, adding it is important for states to come forward for laying out funds and focusing on 5G and related skills. Doing so would ensure that foundations of digital economy strengthened across the country.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has also requested the ministry of skill development to look at negotiating mutual recognition agreements with other countries, so that telecom professionals certified from training institutes in India can even look at employment opportunities outside, Rajaraman said. “It is very important that we map the job requirements of other countries and standards they require,” Rajaraman said. PTI