According to the India Skill Report (2019), only 45.6% of the youth graduating from educational institutions are employable. This reflects the massive shortage of skilled workforce in the country.
To tackle the situation and help job seekers enhance their skills, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has recently entered in partnership with global tech giant IBM to unveil a free digital learning platform ‘Skills Build Reignite’.
The platform aims to reach more job seekers and provide new resources to business owners in India. Directorate General of Training, DGT, under the aegis of MSDE has also announced a 10-week duration Skills Build Innovation Camp for students, providing hands on project experience, enhanced learning and increased employability.
In November 2019, IBM India, in partnership with Directorate General of Training (DGT), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, and its implementation partners, made the SkillsBuild online learning platform available to Indian students through Bharatskills of DGT.
Digital classrooms on this platform are available to students and instructors from the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and technical education ecosystem in India. Within the first 6 weeks of its deployment in India, the platform has already benefited 4700 motivated learners from 15 states and Union Territories who have been able to continue their learning despite lockdowns and restrictions.
It currently has impacted 14,135 learners who have completed 40,000 of courses and 77,000 hours of e-learning. SkillsBuild has been rated as India’s Top 10 online learning platform by National Skills Network.
Congratulating DGT and IBM India for their collaborative efforts, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey said, “It marks a significant milestone in supporting Centre’s efforts in accelerating Indian economy’s revival from the adverse effects of COVID-19 with the launch of SkillsBuild Reignite and Innovation Camp.”
He further said, “In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Skill India Mission, the Ministry has been working relentlessly to strengthen the skilling ecosystem and leverage the rise in demand for new-age skills by expanding industry cross-collaboration and creating learning pathways through digital learning platforms.”
He said, IBM‘s expertise in providing multifaceted digital skill training in the area of Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence will strengthen the efforts in the recovery of local workforces, communities and economies by supporting job seekers, entrepreneurs and small businesses. IBM has committed to provide multifaceted digital skill training in the area of Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence to students and trainers in National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and ITIs.
Even in this pandemic period, DGT is lining up with the industry partners for enabling blended, e-learning with a combination of multimedia and similar digital resources for the students, trainees, trainers and the administrators, by providing anytime, anywhere online digital content through its BharatSkills learning platform.
In appreciation of the role played by IBM India, Praveen Kumar, Secretary, MSDE said, “Our mission is to empower next gen with new age skills and make them future ready. Our collaboration with IBM will help us address the widening skill gap in the country and create a culture of up-skilling. IBM’s SkillsBuild Reignite platform provides the right set of tools, innovative approach and access to mentors for students to thrive in this competitive environment”.
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