Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar launches Future Skills PRIME programme

The Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar has launched Future Skills PRIME, a joint initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NASSCOM.

While launching the initiative, Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “Skilling should not be seen as entry-level only, but as a continuous dynamic ladder of skilling, upskilling and reskilling. The Industry must forecast the new skills required. The private sector must act as the early warning system- as training, financial and employment stakeholder. As we go up the value chain, the competition will be more intense. The skill intensity must match the competition intensity. This is a serious inflection point for us. The competition and the skilling must increase. The Government is committed to being a partner to the industry for success. But succeed we should, and succeed we must.”

Future Skills PRIME, a first-of-its-kind initiative, aims to create an up-skilling/re-skilling ecosystem in 10 emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, IoT, blockchain, 3D printing, AR/VR, cyber security, cloud computing, and so on, to enable IT professionals to continuously improve their skills in line with their aspirations and aptitude.

The pan-India network of C-DAC and NIELIT Centres is also being used to widen the scope of this initiative through blended-learning programmes to smaller towns and distant regions. Through industry-curated courses, FutureSkills PRIME is also giving an opportunity for government personnel, particularly technical/scientific cadres, to be trained and familiarised with the subtleties of developing technology.

Prominent industry leaders, Mr. Rishad Premji, Chairman, Wipro Ltd., Mr. Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, Mr. CP Gurnani, CEO and MD, Tech. Mahindra and Ms. Rekha Menon, Chairperson and Sr. MD, Accenture (India) also attended this event at MeitY.

Ms. Debjani Ghosh, President NASSCOM in her welcome address said that “We are envisioning India to emerge as a global leader in technology. Digital skills are the raw material we need to win in the race and a digital skilling platform backed by the Government and NASSCOM provides the perfect recipe towards positioning India as the global hub for emerging technologies and talent. FutureSkills PRIME is generating new entrants for the world of technology.”

Mr Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY in his address said that “India has immense skills. The Government and the Industry have worked together to create a national public digital skilling platform with curated competency based pathways along with popular digital fluency courses. Future Skills PRIME is a Team India effort.”

Speaking at the occasion, Mr RishadPremji, Chairman, WIPRO said that “India has become one of the biggest IT destinations for enterprises globally with its pricing competitiveness and quality talent. FutureSkills PRIME is ushering a robust paradigm to develop core competencies in emerging technologies. The willingness of companies to look at alternative talent pools will enable people to pick up courses that are relevant to industry, thereby bridging the digital talent gap”.

Mr. AnantMaheswari, President, Microsoft India indicated that “the skills of the future will look very different from the skills that exist today. To thrive in a digital future, new formats of skilling programs need to be built & delivered at a massive scale, so that our youth are not only equipped with digital skills, but we also enable them with critical thinking, collaboration, creative problem solving & responsible decision-making”.

Ms. Rekha Menon, Chairperson, NASSCOM and Sr. MD, Accenture said “I envision FutureSkills PRIME as a one-stop global platform for skilling, up-skilling and re-skilling in emerging technologies. The launch of FutureSkills PRIME is a huge step by the government to derive benefits in the form of a future-ready talent that would facilitate both, the Government and the industry to innovate at a much faster pace”.

In his address, Mr CP Gurnani, CEO and MD, Tech Mahindra brought out that “the pandemic has enhanced the possibilities for a more expansive learning approach, leading to democratization of education in India. Tech organizations in India are transitioning towards location agnostic hiring and hybrid work models. Up-skilling/Re-skilling through Future Skills PRIME would equip candidates with exciting opportunities”

Dr. Jaideep Kumar Mishra, Joint Secretary, MeitY brought out that FutureSkills PRIME seeks to motivate and create value at every step through innovative mechanisms. A concept of ‘skills passport’ and ‘skills ledger’ that are rather unique have been introduced so that any learning that an aspirant acquires during his re-skilling/ up-skilling journey can be recorded and recognized.

Also read: This platform connects Skill India with Digital India through digital fluency and upskilling https://nationalskillsnetwork.in/futureskills-prime-connects-skill-india-with-digital-india/

Ms. Kirti Seth, CEO, IT-ITeS SSC-NASSCOM proposing the vote of thanks said that as the key implementing agency, SSC-NASSCOM is proud to be a part of this initiative. She further said that the re-skilling/ up-skilling incentive for B2C beneficiary by the government is a step in the right direction to enable a larger learner ecosystem.