Bengaluru Skill Summit 2026: Focus on building workforce for 2030

November 4, 2026 /Posted byPrajwal EW / 0

The second edition of Bengaluru Skill Summit 2026 was inaugurated in Bengaluru, on November 3, bringing together government representatives, industry leaders and skill development stakeholders to discuss workforce development under the theme ‘Workforce 2030: Scale, Systems, Synergy’.

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 will run until November 5. Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) is the Knowledge Partner, Japan is the Country Partner, and Trescon is managing the event.

The inaugural ceremony featured opening addresses by Dr. Sharanprakash R. Patil, Minister for Medical Education and Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, and Dr. M. B. Patil, Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development.

Addressing the gathering, Minister Priyank Kharge highlighted Karnataka’s demographic advantage and skilled workforce as key differentiators in attracting investment.

“We have a lot of competition among all states in this nation. We just got off a call with their chief minister. They are putting us on the backfoot, saying, “Do you know what Telangana, UP have to offer?

“It all changes for Karnataka when we put our demography entirely on the slide. Other states can offer as much in incentives as they want, but nobody can match the agility found in Karnataka’s talent pool.

“We don’t pitch Karnataka as an investment destination but as a knowledge and skill capital. That is what has made us the fourth-largest technology cluster in the world. We have over 400 R&D centres, over 1,100 global capability centres, and rank number eight in the world for startups. More importantly, we have a policy advantage.

“Karnataka was the first state to have IT and BT, sustainable data, AVGC, electric vehicles and battery storage policies, among others. We have the most comprehensive skill development policy, with an outlay of over Rs 4,425 crore. It is not just about investment of money but about how we are grooming talent from the bottom of the pyramid.”

Dr. Sharanprakash R. Patil emphasised the need for continuous learning and industry-driven skill development.

“We are living through one of the most transformative times in human history. AI is changing the nature of work, robotics is transforming manufacturing, and green energy is creating new occupations. Learning must be continuous.

“Someone centring workforce in 2026 may realise that the skills needed in 2030 are very different. Our responsibility is therefore not just to prepare youngsters for today but for opportunities that will arise tomorrow.

“The greatest economic resource of Karnataka is not merely its infrastructure. It is in the technology parks, the talent and inspirations of its people. We must move from a supply-driven to an industry-driven approach.”

The ceremony also felicitated Karnataka’s participants at the 48th WorldSkills Competition 2026 in Shanghai, China, and released three publications: *Karnataka Kaushalya Sampada – The Skill Handbook* (2026 edition), *Karnataka Talent Landscape 2026* and *Karnataka’s Workforce Blueprint 2030* (Second Edition).

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“Most schools never consciously chose their basic unit. They inherited one from the past: the class. With the class as the focus, the things that happen between people get squeezed out: the apprentice learning alongside someone skilled, the child taught where they are rather than where the class is, and the daily practice of getting along with people they did not choose. The most promising new schools are organising themselves around the individual child rather than the class. A better approach is to group children by readiness in each subject and change those groups as they progress. Communication, collaboration and handling disagreement need daily practice. In a school built around individual progress, teachers get time back to observe, diagnose, mentor and step in where they are most needed. Most teachers entered the profession to make a difference to children. Many spend their careers managing classes instead. The best new schools offer them a system that finally lets them do the work they signed up for.”

- Rahul Raghavan, Economic Times, (27/10)

“Government medical college seats are 100% filled, vacancies are confined entirely to the private sector. Colleges and state fee-fixation committees must re-examine these fee structures, because lowering NEET qualifying cut-offs will not resolve an affordability crisis when millions of candidates already qualify. The vacancies are an indicator that qualifying for medical admission does not necessarily mean students could afford a seat. Institutions charge full fees to early applicants and offer discounts to late entrants to fill the vacant seats. It reflects a purely commercial approach that compromises merit while still failing to fill classrooms. High management-quota fees are putting seats beyond the reach of many candidates. Some 24 lakh students write the entrance test for 1.4 lakh seats. While the cream gets government seats, the rest of the students cannot afford a management-quota seat.”

- Divyansh Kumar, The Times of India, (2/11)

Bengaluru Skill Summit 2026: Focus on building workforce for 2030

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