Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology collaborates with IBM to build future-ready skills and enhance employability

The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and IBM India Pvt Ltd on Thursday announced a collaboration to set up an education and skilling ecosystem that creates critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and next-generation innovators through the Common Services Centre (CSC) Academy.

The CSC Academy, part of the Common Services Centre (CSC) scheme of the Government of India’s Digital India programme and IBM, along with their implementation partners CSR Box, Uva Jagriti Sansthan and Jeevitam, will foster the capability and development of learners with diverse backgrounds and educational needs.

As 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 are currently being conducted across the 6000 CSC Academies. The IBM programmes offer courses and project-based learning in various technologies including Cloud & AI.

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, 5000 are already set up across the country. With a view to making the learning experiential, IBM will also focus on getting the learners involved in training, workshops, train-the-trainer programs and co-create training materials and conduct orientation camps. This program will also provide access to employment to 4000 village-level youth in the identified rural areas, said a statement.

"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," Dinesh Tyagi, Managing Director, CSC e-Governance Services India Limited said.

"Our collaboration with MeitY and CSC Academy will open up access to deep technological resources and expertise to learners with diverse backgrounds and educational needs and focus on skill upgradation through experiential learning - initiatives aimed at enhancing employability," Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India/South Asia said.