Bengaluru Skill Summit 2026 Announced As Karnataka's Second Edition

The Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood (SDEL), Government of Karnataka, has announced the second edition of the Bengaluru Skill Summit at a curtain raiser held at Vikasa Soudha, Bengaluru. The summit will run from 3 to 5 November 2026 at The Lalit Ashok Bengaluru, India.

The curtain raiser was attended by Dr. Sharanprakash Rudrappa Patil, Sri Subodh Yadav, Smt. Shivakantamma (Kanta) Naik, Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy, Mr. Hiroshi Nawata, Dr. Ravi M. Tirlapur, Smt. Vasireddy Vijaya Jyothsna, Smt. Shilpa M, and Rev. Fr. Dr. Victor Lobo SJ. The summit is organised by SDEL, hosted by KSDC, and developed with KSDA and KDEM.

Managed by Trescon, Bengaluru Skill Summit 2026 follows the inaugural edition in November 2025, which drew over 6,500 footfall over three days. Organisers said the 2026 edition is designed as a more execution-focused platform to bring government, industry, academia and global partners together on workforce planning and skilling models.

The summit carries the theme “Workforce 2030: Scale, Systems, Synergy”. It is expected to welcome 6,500+ footfall, 150+ speakers, 50+ exhibitors, 100+ partners, and national and international delegations. Inauguration is scheduled for 3 November at 5:00 PM by Chief Minister Shri D. K. Shivakumar, with Dr. G. Parameshwara and Dr. Sharanprakash Rudrappa Patil in attendance.

The programme will centre on four thematic tracks: Emerging Skills, Skills for All, Innovation and Global Skills. Emerging Skills will cover green jobs, AI, Industry 4.0 and the digital economy, while Skills for All will focus on women, youth, informal workers and the gig economy. Innovation and Global Skills will highlight best practices and employability.

The Plenary Stage will bring together senior government leaders, industry experts, academia and workforce practitioners to discuss future-ready skills, lifelong learning, inclusive participation, global skills, AI-enabled transformation, employability and policy-industry collaboration. Marquee sessions will include a senior ministers’ panel on Karnataka’s roadmap from policy to execution and a cross-state discussion on leading skills ecosystems.

New features include Precursor Events held at Mysuru Big Tech Show 2026 and HDB Techceleration 2026 in Hubballi, an expanded Innovation Stage, a closed-door Development Dialogue by Deshpande Skilling on rural youth employment, and the Expo Arena. The Kaushalya Karnataka Awards 2026 will be presented on 5 November 2026 across Corporate Excellence and Institutional Excellence categories.

Skillathon 2026 will invite participants to use publicly available government data to map labour-market demand, validate insights, guide action and shape future systems. Parallel roundtables will cover Green Skills, Blue Collar Economy, Smart Factories, Academia 2030, CG + Trade Mission, Vertical Transportation, Inclusive Skilling, International Mobility, employability in education, and Healthcare & Life Sciences.

Dr. Sharanprakash Rudrappa Patil said the inaugural edition in 2025 laid a strong foundation for collaboration and action, and that the second edition in November 2026 will bring stakeholders from government, industry, academia and the global community together to strengthen partnerships and build a future-ready workforce.