Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on May 21 urged that economic growth must translate into opportunities at the grassroots as the state expanded its skill development and entrepreneurship efforts during Skillerate 2026 at Holly Hocks in Tura. The event, organised by the Meghalaya State Skill Development Society (MSSDS) under the Department of Labour, Employment and Skill Development, focused on employment-linked skilling, entrepreneurship and livelihood generation for youth entering the workforce across the state.
Addressing the gathering, Sangma said the government alone could not drive economic progress and called for collective participation. “Economic growth has meaning only when benefits reach the people, especially those in the rural areas,” he said, and asked citizens to engage with CM CONNECT programmes so the government can better identify grassroots issues.
The chief minister highlighted the state’s growing skilling network, noting more than 136 training partners are now active under various programmes and nearly 1.58 lakh enrolments have been recorded so far. He also announced two new higher-education initiatives in the pipeline: a College of Agriculture, Horticulture and Food Processing in East Garo Hills, and a Veterinary College in Ri Bhoi.
A principal announcement at Tura was the rollout of post-training support under the PROPEL scheme. Under PROPEL, about 21,000 trainees are set to receive startup toolkits valued at nearly Rs 24 crore in total, with each toolkit worth roughly Rs 9,000. At the event the government also issued 34 work orders under Skills Meghalaya and the Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya project worth over Rs 16.59 crore, and handed over 819 startup toolkits to beneficiaries.
Officials said the Tura edition follows a Shillong leg of Skillerate 2026 held earlier this month, where four flagship schemes — PROPEL, MEGASKILL, SHIELD and EQUIP — were launched with a combined investment of more than Rs 50 crore aimed at strengthening Meghalaya’s skilling ecosystem.
Labour, Employment and Skill Development Minister Methodius Dkhar said the state has made significant progress and urged young people to take pride in all forms of work. “I am seeing not trainees, but the future entrepreneurs, future changemakers of Meghalaya,” he said.
Government figures shared at the event state that over the past five years more than 50,000 youth have been trained across sectors and nearly 30,000 have received certifications that enabled self-employment and formal jobs. The state spent close to Rs 80 crore on the Skills Meghalaya programme in the last three years, and trainees collectively generated around Rs 150 crore in income during the same period, underscoring the economic impact the skilling drive aims to scale.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/meghalaya/story/meghalaya-ramps-up-youth-skilling-push-with-rs-50-crore-investment-1395615-2026-05-22?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-05-22 07:43:00
