The first-ever Junior Skills Championship was launched on February 4 by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in collaboration with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

The Junior Skills Championship is launched with an objective to enhance the integration of technical and vocational education (TVET) at the school level.

The championship shares the values and objectives of the Skill India Mission, emphasizing technical and vocational skill training and capacity building in the interest of creating a productive and self-reliant workforce as a part of nation-building.

Leveraging its experience and expertise of leading India’s participation at World Skills International competitions since 2011, NSDC, through this initiative, aims to create wider awareness about the importance of skill development amongst the youth of the country at an early age.

The championship, to be held virtually this year, will provide students with an opportunity to identify their talent and interests and make informed career choices in a rapidly changing world.

The registration for Junior Skills Championship will be open until February 19, 2021.

The championship will be promoted through nearly 21,000+ CBSE-affiliated schools across India.

Targeted at students studying in standard 6th to 12th across the country, the Junior Skills Championship will provide a platform for talented children of India to showcase their skills.

At the same time, it will create a pipeline for forthcoming World Skills Competitions and will connect education with industry-related skills.

Further, the championship will also assimilate international standards and assessment norms, build the capacity of teachers as per World Skills standards, create role models among students and make skills inspirational for youth.

The championship will have myriad activities planned over the course of the next two months including skill competitions for schools, career counselling webinars, digital seminars and panel discussions, online boot camps and roundtable conference of academicians and corporates leading up to the final national competition to be held in April 2021.

The championship will be conducted at four levels - Screening, Qualifying, Semi-Final and Final.

Amidst the current COVID situation, the first three levels of the championship will be organised online, and the finale is proposed to be conducted on-ground in Delhi.

The competition levels will further be classified into three groups:

Group                                   Class

Group 1                                6^th to 8^th

Group 2                                9^th and 10^th

Group 3                                11^th and 12^th

The national-level skill championship will be conducted for ten skills:

Note for Students:

• Students from class 6th to 12^thfrom CBSE affiliated schools can participate.
• School authorities can submit bulk entries in the prescribed format online.
• The last date of registration is February 19, 2021
• To apply for participation, fill registration form’ on https://worldskillsindia.co.in/juniorSkills2021
• For general information and queries, read FAQs on the portal.
• Screening and selection will be done by the National Skill Development Corporation.