Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday told the state’s Gen-Z that they are “the future of the country, the source of new ideas and consciousness” and announced a major push on skill training to tap 20 lakh jobs expected in the next five years.
Addressing the 80th Independence Day celebrations in Bhubaneswar, the CM said job creation is the biggest challenge for today’s youth and the government is emphasizing on skill training aligned with modern and future employment needs.
“At least 3 lakh jobs are going to be created in the next one or two years, and 20 lakh in five years. To take advantage of this opportunity, we have taken steps to train the youth of the state in skills as per the needs of the industries,” Majhi said.
Highlighting initiatives, he said in partnership with Singapore, skills training is being imparted to youth at the World Skill Center.
“We have also decided to open 3 more new centers of the World Skill Center,” he announced.The CM said Odisha’s Skill Model is now considered one of the best in the country in the Best Practices Survey. Under the Excellence ITI scheme for modernization, Centers of Excellence are being established in 25 ITIs across the state and AI Labs are being set up in 13 ITIs.
Odisha has also emerged as the National Skill Champion in India Skills 2025-26. “Odisha’s youth have won 57 medals in various categories. This is not an ordinary achievement. This is a symbol of the bright future of the youth of Odisha,” Majhi said.
The Chief Minister also cautioned youth against what he called attempts to mislead them. “For the past few days, some external forces inside and outside the country have been trying to mislead the youth of the country. Because, they do not want to see India as a strong nation. They are well aware that Modi ji will not bow down before them, will not compromise on the interests of the country.
So, they are targeting the youth,” he said. “But, our youth knows that whatever problem they have, only Modi ji can solve it,” Majhi added. He reiterated that the government’s focus is to equip Gen-Z with industry-relevant skills so that they can benefit from the employment opportunities being created in Odisha.
