Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma participated in a session on ‘Securing a Future-Ready Workforce for the Next Industrial Era’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos, emphasizing Assam’s initiatives to tackle global talent shortages through the Assam Skills University and Skill Development Mission, which features industry-led curricula and modular certifications. He expressed the importance of achieving growth that is “fast but fair, advanced but accessible,” leveraging Assam’s youthful median age of 22.7 years to enhance India’s growth trajectory with appropriate skill development. Sarma highlighted Assam’s strategy of integrating workforce preparation into projects like Tata’s semiconductor plant to ensure technology complements rather than replaces jobs. The panel included notable figures such as Kevin Stitt, Governor of Oklahoma, and Benjamin Haddad, French Minister Delegate for Europe. Additionally, CM Sarma held discussions with leaders from the global semiconductor sector and met with Gary Cohn from IBM, who is set to send a team to Assam to explore investments in skilling, AI, and other initiatives.
