Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday urged Goan entrepreneurs to leverage the India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), saying the bilateral trade deal will boost exports of marine products, sports goods, engineering goods, footwear and textiles.Sawant, who also holds the education portfolio, called on the directorate of skill development and the directorate of education to equip students with entrepreneurship and business skills.“The youth need to think how they can take advantage of these global deals. I want my education department to also think out of the box and see how, aside from formal education, we can teach children about business,” said Sawant.He was speaking at a programme held to mark World Youth Skills Day 2026.Sawant said the reforms introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP) will help meet the private sector’s manpower requirements over the next 50 years. He added that the state is investing Rs 180 crore to modernise Goa’s Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).He also acknowledged the contribution of ITI trainers, many of whom have been working on contract for over a decade without being regularised.“I know that many of them have not been confirmed, even though they have been working for 10-12 years on a contract basis. Our new policy says that those who have completed 10 years will have their jobs confirmed. I am giving this assurance. We will give priority to this,” said Sawant.At the event, Sawant witnessed the signing of five memorandums of understanding (MoUs) aimed at strengthening skill development, industry exposure, on-the-job training, research and institutional collaboration. The partnerships involved the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), the directorate of skill development and entrepreneurship, the directorate of fire and emergency services, ITIs at Mapusa and Cacora, S.S. Dempo College, and the directorate of planning, statistics and evaluation.“Goa is the only state with 100% ISO-certified government ITIs, and with initiatives such as zero ITI fees for girls, modern training and industry partnerships, we are empowering our youth through skilling, reskilling and upskilling,” Sawant said.Sawant also felicitated winners of the India Skills Competition and recipients of the National Teachers Award, among others.During his address, the chief minister said Goa must also intensify efforts to reduce road accidents and work towards bringing road accident fatalities down to zero.
