DGT-MSDE partners Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation to provide digital content for ITI students

The Directorate General of Training (DGT) under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) joined hands with Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation to provide digital content for ITI students and also future-ready employability skilling program for upskilling and reskilling.  Nearly 1,20,000 students in around 3000 ITIs across India can be benefited by this digitized e-learning module via the Bharatskills portal.

Microsoft has also facilitated access to the free content available on the Microsoft Learn platform for more than 24 lakh students in the ITI ecosystem, by linking the Global Skilling Initiative (GSI) through the Bharatskills platform. Further, it is supporting the digitisation of the entire content of a popular course – ‘Computer Operating and Programming Assistant’ (COPA) through the NASSCOM Foundation and also in conducting faculty development programmes to build capacities of the trainers or faculties in the NSTIs and ITIs.

The blended content with self-learning digital tutorials and handholding from teachers, is expected to be accessed by more than 1 lakh 20 thousand students pursuing the course across 3000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) annually. Hence, this will reduce the number of class-room hours and student-teacher engagement leading to the possibility to train double the existing number of students in COPA courses within the same infrastructure. 

This blended learning mode will help the trainee students to learn basic digital skills at the primary level in a uniform standardized manner and subsequently the advanced level Microsoft Office Technologies including Networking and Cyber Security.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, “Through the DGT-Microsoft partnership, we are aiming to impact thousands of students by enabling digitization in education and hope it to reach more students and teachers soon.  As the pandemic is a compelling fast-track digital transition, these new learning initiatives will empower young learners with technical and market-oriented skills.” 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India said, “Empowering the next generation of learners with industry relevant digital skills is critical as we move towards building economic resilience. The last few months have accelerated the need for upskilling and has shown clearly that the future of learning will be supported by technology. Our partnership with DGT and NASSCOM Foundation is built on this foundation of equipping the learners of today with the skills required to thrive in the jobs of tomorrow.”

Mr Ashok Pamidi, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation said “Blended learning has been a game-changer for all our skill-based programs. With this e-content, we hope to bring this model to the 1.2 lakh ITI students engaged in COPA. Microsoft has been one of our most valuable partners in our journey towards building a digital skills landscape in the country. We thank them for their continuous and unwavering support. We are also extremely proud to collaborate with Directorate General of Training (DGT) to roll out the e-content in 3000 ITIs and NSTIs across India.”

The DGT under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) governs a network of about 15,000 training institutes (ITIs) and 33 National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).

Also read: SKF India partners with Tata STRIVE for skill development and vocational training  https://nationalskillsnetwork.in/skf-india-partners-with-tata-strive-for-skill-development-and-vocational-training/