VMPL
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 6: The second version of Bengaluru Skill Summit 2026, organised by the Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka, hosted by the Karnataka Skill Development Corporation (KSDC), in affiliation with the Karnataka Skill Development Authority (KSDA), and with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) as Knowledge Partner, efficiently concluded after three days of discussions, {industry} and educational engagements, and knowledge-sharing periods. The Summit recorded a complete footfall of 9,500, bringing collectively authorities leaders, policymakers, {industry} representatives, educational consultants, worldwide stakeholders and youth to debate future workforce necessities and employment alternatives. Japan was the Country Partner for the 2026 version.
Themed ‘Workforce 2030: Scale, Systems, Synergy,’ the Summit explored methods to construct a future-ready workforce and strengthen Karnataka’s abilities ecosystem. Its programme was structured round 4 thematic tracks: Emerging Skills, specializing in inexperienced jobs, AI, Industry 4.0 and the digital economic system; Skills for All, advancing inclusion throughout ladies, youth, casual staff and the gig economic system; Innovation, showcasing international and native greatest practices in skilling; and Global Skills, positioning Karnataka’s workforce for international employability and mobility.
Across the three days, the Summit featured ministerial discussions, industry-led periods, keynote addresses, panel discussions, the Skill Expo and Innovation Stage engagements. Key themes included ‘Workforce 2030: Karnataka’s Roadmap from Policy to Execution’, ‘Preparing Young People for Their First Job in an AI-Enabled Economy’, ‘AI, Employability and the New Skills Economy’, ‘The Rise of Hands-On Careers: New Opportunities in Skilled Employment’, and ‘The Care Economy: Preparing Talent for Global Opportunities’. The programme additionally explored worldwide workforce mobility, Japanese approaches to abilities growth, rising profession pathways and the function of AI in shaping future jobs.
Day 2: Yuva Udyoga Sethu launched, Expo Zone inaugurated and Skillathon held
The second day, on 4 November, noticed the launch of Yuva Udyoga Sethu, a digital employment platform for the younger job seekers from Karnataka, by Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri D. Ok. Shivakumar, Government of Karnataka. The platform goals to attach expert expertise with employment alternatives and strengthen the hyperlink between jobseekers and employers.
The day additionally featured the inauguration of the Expo Zone by Dr. Sharanprakash R. Patil, Hon’ble Minister for Medical Education and Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka. The Expo offered organisations, {industry} representatives and coaching establishments with a platform to current their initiatives, applied sciences, coaching fashions and contributions to the ability growth ecosystem.
The Summit additionally featured a Skillathon (A National Ideas Competition on Labour Market Intelligence for Karnataka) on 4 November, inviting people, groups, startups and organisations from throughout India to discover how Karnataka can use labour market information to align ability growth with precise {industry} demand. Participants have been inspired to make use of publicly obtainable authorities information to map jobs, sectors and rising ability tendencies, validate insights, establish information gaps and study how info from a number of sources could possibly be securely built-in on a digital platform. The initiative aimed to generate data-driven inputs to information the state’s skilling priorities and investments, whereas contributing to the design of the Karnataka Skills Intelligence System (KSISU).
InUnity – Innovation for Community, from Mangaluru, emerged because the winner of the Skillathon.
The day additionally featured a felicitation ceremony for the winners of the Karnataka Skill Olympics 2025-26, organised by the Karnataka Skill Development Corporation (KSDC) to establish and nurture grassroots expertise throughout greater than 50 ability classes. The competitors offered younger achievers with a platform to showcase their abilities and progress in the direction of nationwide and worldwide competitions.
A complete of 138 medal winners have been recognised, comprising 59 Gold, 45 Silver and 34 Bronze medalists. The ceremony acknowledged their dedication, expertise and achievements, whereas recognising the function of ability competitions in selling vocational excellence and aligning Karnataka’s skilling ecosystem with international requirements.
The awards have been introduced by Dr. Sharanprakash R. Patil, Hon’ble Minister for Medical Education and Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka; Smt. Shivakantamma (Kanta) Naik, Chairperson, Karnataka Skill Development Corporation and Karnataka Vocational Training and Skill Development Corporation; Shri Subodh Yadav, IAS, Principal Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, and Dr. Ravi M. Tirlapur, KAS, Managing Director, Karnataka Skill Development Corporation and Karnataka Vocational Training and Skill Development Corporation, have been additionally among the many dignitaries related to the ceremony.
A key session was the Hon’ble Ministers’ Panel Discussion on Workforce 2030: Karnataka’s Roadmap from Policy to Execution. Moderated by Dr. Gayathri Vasudevan, Chief Impact Officer, Sambhav Foundation, the panel introduced collectively Dr. Sharanprakash R. Patil and Shri Priyank Kharge, Hon’ble Minister for Home, Information Technology and Biotechnology, and E-Governance, Government of Karnataka.
The Innovation Stage featured the launch of Nuvepro’s publication, The State of Task Intelligence 2026, by Dr. Ravi M. Tirlapur, KAS, Managing Director, Karnataka Skill Development Corporation and Karnataka Vocational Training & Skill Development Corporation. The publication examines how organisations can perceive duties, roles and workflows to tell choices on workforce capability, abilities and AI-enabled methods of working.
Day 2 additionally featured a particular deal with by Alina Alam, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mitti Cafe, titled ‘The Smart Economics of Human Potential: Why Inclusion Is Not Charity, however Good Business’. The session explored how inclusive workplaces and social enterprises can create significant employment alternatives for individuals with disabilities whereas driving innovation, productiveness and financial participation.
The programme additionally included a hearth chat on Preparing Young People for Their First Job in an AI-Enabled Economy, that includes Gopal Devanahalli, President, Skills Development Network, and Dr. Padmini Ram, Founding Director, Urban Ethnographers. A keynote on AI, Employability and the New Skills Economy: Building a Workforce Ready for 2030 was delivered by Bhavya Suri, Director, Corporate Affairs, Pearson.
Day 3: Discussions deal with expert careers, AI, worldwide mobility and workforce excellence
The last day’s programme on 5 November targeted on rising profession pathways, {industry} necessities and the capabilities wanted for the workforce of the long run.
Plenary Stage
The Plenary Stage started with a keynote deal with by Smt. Debashree Mukherjee, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India. The morning programme additionally featured the panel dialogue ‘The Rise of Hands-On Careers: New Opportunities in Skilled Employment’, which explored altering alternatives in technical and vocational careers throughout sectors comparable to aerospace, superior manufacturing, infrastructure, vitality and logistics.
Smt. Debashree Mukherjee, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India stated, ” We have to show children their pathways, where to go, how to go, and what are the opportunities in their different pathways. Our biggest failure, we are failing our children, because we are not able to show them what is the pathway. Where can you go? What does the system offer you. And how can you actually create a good livelihood for yourself.”
Other key discussions included ‘Learning from India’s Leading Skills Ecosystems’, bringing collectively representatives from totally different states to share approaches to ability growth and implementation, and ‘Turning Skills into Global Careers’, which examined recognised {qualifications}, worldwide requirements, language abilities and the help wanted to attach expert expertise with abroad employment alternatives. The session ‘The Care Economy: Preparing Talent for Global Opportunities’ addressed workforce preparation for rising worldwide demand in healthcare, eldercare and different care companies.
The hearth dialogue, moderated by Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO, KDEM, introduced collectively Vivek Raghavan and Ankush Sabharwal to discover how Artificial Intelligence can increase workforce capabilities and reshape the way forward for abilities and employment. The dialog highlighted the necessity to transfer past the narrative of job substitute in the direction of AI-led augmentation, with a deal with domain-specific and vertical-wise skilling, industry-academia collaboration and steady studying. The dialogue additionally underscored the significance of democratising entry to AI by means of multilingual applied sciences, strengthening expertise ecosystems past Bengaluru, and enabling better workforce participation, notably amongst ladies and youth. Emphasising the necessity to put together Karnataka’s workforce for the evolving AI panorama, Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO, KDEM, stated, “The most valuable worker is not the one who is competing with AI, but the one who is working alongside AI.”
The afternoon programme featured the keynote ‘From Workforce to Imagination Force’ by Biren Ghose, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Astra Studios, which examined the rising function of creativity, authentic mental property and human creativeness in an AI-enabled economic system. The panel ‘Skill Champions: Beyond Medals – Inspiring Through Passion, Perseverance & Performance’, moderated by Ranjan Choudhury, Honorary Member, WorldSkills International, introduced collectively Karnataka’s WorldSkills medal winners, together with Smriti Nambiar, Silver Medal and Best of Nation Award winner in Bakery, and Abhishek Shignalli, Medallion for Excellence recipient in Robot Systems Integration, to share their experiences of getting ready for worldwide competitions and reaching excellence of their respective ability areas. The programme additionally included ‘Traditional Skills in Karnataka: Can Heritage Become the Next Generation of Enterprise?’, that includes Arati Hiremath, Founder, Aartikrafts, and Dr. Arun Yogiraj, Sculptor Artist, and exploring how conventional data can create alternatives by means of coaching, entrepreneurship and market entry. This was adopted by a particular deal with on ‘Developing an Astronaut Mindset in the direction of Nation Building’ by Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair (Kirti Chakra), Astronaut, ISRO, and Air Commodore, Indian Air Force.
Innovation Stage
The Innovation Stage opened with a particular deal with by Madan Padaki, Founder, JnAI and Member, Vision Group for Skills Development, Government of Karnataka, titled ‘From Rural AI Skills to Local Economic Opportunities’. The session examined how AI will help younger individuals in rural and peri-urban communities establish native alternatives, deal with neighborhood wants and construct pathways to entrepreneurship and employment.
Madan Padaki, Founder, JnAI and Member, Vision Group for Skills Development, Government of Karnataka, talking throughout his session at Bengaluru Skill Summit 2026, stated:
“There is infinite potential in every one of you. Only if you believe. The moment you start believing, you can do anything. Our thought was, it is not that Gen AI that is required for India, but JnAI. How do you make AI work for the people’
The stage also featured the panel discussion ‘Workforce 2030: Bridging Academia, AI, and Human Capability for Next-Gen Talent’, which examined how educational institutions, industry and government can work together to prepare learners for an AI-enabled workforce. Another discussion, ‘Building a Future-Ready Talent Pool through Skilling and Global Collaboration’, brought industry, academia and international stakeholders together to discuss industry-aligned training, talent gaps and global collaboration.
Further sessions included ‘Yuva Voices on Building a Future-Ready Workforce from the Classroom’, which explored how school and college experiences can help young people develop critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving skills. The keynote ‘Industry 5.0: What Skills Will the Next Industrial Revolution Demand?’ examined the changing skill requirements of the next phase of industrial development. The stage also featured discussions on ‘Digital Education: A Silver Bullet Despite Challenges’, and ‘Higher Education and Skills: Preparing Graduates for the World of Work’, focusing on access to quality education, practical learning and stronger links between academic programmes and industry requirements.
The programme also featured Skill Champions: Beyond Medals – Inspiring Through Passion, Perseverance and Performance, a panel discussion with Karnataka’s WorldSkills medal winners. The session recognised the achievements of skilled participants and provided a platform to discuss their experiences, preparation and journeys in their respective skill areas.
The final day also featured the Kaushalya Karnataka Awards, presented by Dr. Sharanprakash R. Patil, Hon’ble Minister for Medical Education and Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, Government of Karnataka; and Smt. Shivakantamma (Kanta) Naik, Chairperson, Karnataka Skill Development Corporation and Karnataka Vocational Training & Skill Development Corporation, recognising excellence across Best Performing ITIs (Government, Aided and Private), Best ITI Principals, Best Junior Training Officers (JTOs), Best ITI Trainees, Best Performing GTTC Centres, Best Trainers and Outstanding Trainees from GTTC and KGTTI, Best GTTC Alumni in Corporate/Academic and Industrialist/Entrepreneurship Excellence, Best Self-Help Groups (SHGs) under the State’s National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), Best Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs), Best Institutions in Skill Competitions, and Corporate Excellence Awards across Large Enterprise, Mid-Market and Growth Enterprise categories.
Advancing Karnataka’s workforce priorities
Across its three-day programme, Bengaluru Skill Summit 2026 brought together government, industry, academia and international stakeholders to examine how Karnataka can strengthen its skills ecosystem and respond to changing workforce requirements. Discussions covered industry-led training, lifelong learning, inclusive skilling, AI, emerging occupations, international workforce mobility and the recognition of skilled professions.
The Summit’s focus on Scale, Systems and Synergy reflected the need to expand access to quality skilling, strengthen institutional frameworks and improve collaboration between government, industry and educational institutions. The third edition of Bengaluru Skill Summit is scheduled to take place from 3 to 5 November 2027, continuing the platform’s focus on Karnataka’s evolving workforce priorities.
About Bengaluru Skill Summit
Bengaluru Skill Summit is Organised by the Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood (SDEL), Government of Karnataka, and hosted by the Karnataka Skill Development Corporation (KSDC), in collaboration with the Karnataka Skill Development Authority (KSDA), the three-day summit is being held from 3 to 5 November 2026. Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) is the Knowledge Partner, and Japan is the Country Partner. Trescon is managing the event.
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