Academic qualifications alone are not enough; employability skills are essential: Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Skill development plays a crucial role in shaping an individual's career and employment prospects, and in today's highly competitive world, becoming a professional equipped with industry-relevant skills is just as important as academic qualifications, said Industry and IT Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty. He was inaugurating the 'Skill Kerala' initiative at Hotel Muscat in Thiruvananthapuram, a programme jointly implemented by the Government of Kerala and the ICT Academy with the objective of transforming Kerala into an AI capital. The AI training programme is being conducted by ICT Academy in collaboration with leading global companies such as Google, MongoDB, Intel, Infosys, and NASSCOM. Rojy M. John, Higher Education Minister who attended the event, stated that the government is committed to strengthening skill development initiatives to make students industry-ready. He added that the government's objective is to create more employment opportunities within Kerala itself, thereby reducing the trend of young people moving to other states in search of better career prospects. The inaugural event witnessed the participation of several eminent personalities from the academic and technology sectors, including Muralidharan Manningal, CEO of ICT Academy, Sriram Sambasiva Rao, Special Secretary, IT Department, Dr. Saji Gopinath, Vice-Chancellor of Digital University Kerala, and Prof. (Dr.) Jagathi Raj V.P., Vice-Chancellor of Sree Narayana Guru Open University, among others.