Pune: Considering the increasing need for a skilled workforce in the defence sector, Symbiosis Skills and Professional University (SSPU), Pune, recently launched the School of Defence. The university plans to introduce various degree and diploma-level engineering programmes to create industry-ready youth for this emerging sector.

Additionally, the university also hosted veterans, including Lt Gen Khandare, Principal Adviser, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, and Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (Retd.). Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), and Vayu Sena Medal (VSM), who shared their insights on Comprehensive National Security & Power.

Dr Swati Mujumdar, pro-chancellor of SSPU, highlighted the university’s recent roundtable with over 25 leading industry representatives to assess sectoral demands. The enthusiastic collaboration of these industries with SSPU to develop industry-aligned curricula and provide skill training to students promises to significantly enhance the employability of our graduates, fostering optimism for the future of the defence sector.

A crucial element in this is the Government of India’s significant impetus towards the privatisation of defence manufacturing and defence technology, with Pune emerging as a hub for these activities.

It may be noted that Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently stated that the employability of India’s graduates had considerably increased, thanks to various government skill-building initiatives.

Furthermore, the union cabinet, last week, approved the continuation and restructuring of the ‘Skill India Programme’ with Rs 8000 crore outlay till 2026. This underscores the government’s unwavering commitment to building a future-ready workforce by integrating demand-driven, technology-enabled, and industry-aligned training across the country, providing reassurance for the future of the defence sector.