IBM, MeitY collaborate to build future-ready skills, enhance employability

Tech giant IBM on Thursday said it has collaborated with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to create a robust education and skilling ecosystem through the Common Services Centre Academy.

CSC Academy, part of the Common Services Centre (CSC), and IBM, along with implementation partners CSR Box, Uva Jagriti Sansthan and Jeevitam will foster the capability and development of learners with diverse backgrounds and educational needs, a statement said.

They will extensively use technology, teaching and delivering of specialised courses/training programmes in areas including Cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to train learners such as village-level entrepreneurs, functionaries and stakeholders of the CSC programme, it added.

As a part of the collaboration, IBM will curate and provide content from its key skilling programs - SkillsBuild and STEM for Girls - to be used for the training services and in community development programmes that is currently being conducted across 6,000 CSC Academies.

The CSC Academy supports more than 3.7 lakh common service centres, including 60,000 women-only centres and is planning to set up 6,000 CSC Academy centres (one in every block) out of which 5,000 are already set up across the country.

"This collaboration with IBM aligns with the National Education Policy's emphasis on learning 21st century skills to ensure the future-readiness of India's youth and realizing the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat," CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd Managing Director Dinesh Tyagi said.

To make learning experiential, IBM will also focus on getting the learners involved in trainings, workshops, train-the-trainer programs and co-create training materials and conduct orientation camps, the statement said.

This programme will also provide access to employment to 4,000 village level youth in the identified rural areas, it added.

"Exponential technologies like AI and Hybrid Cloud can drive path-breaking innovations and fuel the nation's digital India vision. To make this a reality there is a need to create the right avenues and platforms for learners to be equipped with industry-ready skills," Sandip Patel, Managing Director at IBM India/South Asia, said.

SkillsBuild has covered 40,000 learners with 1.10 lakh learning hours and 80,000 course completion since its launch in November 2019 in India.

The IBM STEM for Girls is a three-year program that initially reached over 600 secondary schools and 78,000 girls and 45,000 boys in the first year. Its goal is to advance the STEM skills and career prospects of two lakh girls and one lakh boys by promoting digital literacy, coding/tech skills, career development, and girls' empowerment by 2022.