Kerala, 30 January 2026

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL)-Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) and Sreenarayanaguru Open University (SGOU) organised a three day workshop on “Course Enhancement with Employability Attributes and Development of Skill-based Courses” from 27-29 January 2026.

The purpose of the workshop was to strengthen SGOU’s academic and institutional capacity to enhance programmes and courses with employability attributes and to develop skill-based courses aligned with the SGOU Graduate Employability Framework and COL guidelines.

Dr B. Shadrach, Director, COL-CEMCA, highlighted that Kerala’s growth is poised to be knowledge-led, driven by its high literacy rate and skilled workforce. He outlined SGOU’s crucial role in this growth story and emphasised that with breakthrough technologies like AI, robotics, and advanced materials, Kerala is poised to excel in aerospace, defence, space tech, and graphene.

Highlighting key sectors driving growth, including health sciences, sustainable energy, manufacturing, logistics and maritime, and tourism and hospitality, he said SGOU can bridge these gaps by offering industry integrated microcredentials, focusing on working professionals and rural youth, and leveraging blended learning and online platforms.

Dr B. Shadrach set the goal for the workshop, which was to focus on reimagining SGOU’s curriculum and role in Kerala’s growth story. He called to “Create a university that stands shoulder to shoulder with Kerala’s industrial policy and vision for a knowledge-led economy.”

Prof. (Dr.) Jagathy Raj V.P, Vice Chancellor, SGOU, emphasised that in the 21st century, education must prioritise employability and skills over mere degree attainment. He emphasised that we’re living in a world where knowledge is always faster than degrees, where jobs are always faster than education. He highlighted a study which showed that 50% of Indian graduates are deemed unemployable due to skills gaps, communication issues, and a lack of work readiness. He called for a shift in higher education, focusing on skills, communication, and work readiness to make degrees more valuable and employment oriented.

The workshop aimed to equip faculty members with skills to revamp their programmes, focusing on employability and competency based learning. In order to create blended learning courses that incorporate openly licensed resources and gender responsive principles, participants mapped competencies, matched courses with graduate attributes, and created draft course outputs for submission and refinement.