Press Release

IBM and NASSCOM Foundation make 2500+ students employment ready

IBM’s ‘New-Collar Employability Skills Program’ trains students from non-tech colleges in new technologies like Data Science and Cloud Computing

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and NASSCOM Foundation today jointly announced the culmination of the first year of its New-collar Employability Skills Program. Under the program, more than 2500 students from 23 colleges across various regions of Karnataka, NCR and Haryana completed IBM certified courses on Data Science and Cloud computing.

IBM has been progressing technical, soft and life-skills development in youth to prepare them for the ‘new collar’ jobs.  This unique CSR intervention by IBM engaged students through an on-campus approach in a 204 hour-long blended training model that uses online and face-face training imersions to build skills in new-age technologies like Data Science and Cloud Computing.  Students from 23 Tier-2 and Tier-3 non-technical institutions were trained by training partners TMI and iPrimed. The colleges chosen for the program included Vijaya Evening College, East Point College, Vidya Vahini College, Vivekanand Degree College, Karnataka college Dharwad, Siddaganga College, Siddhaganga Women’s College* and several colleges in Dharwar, Bhagalkot, Gadag, Koppal, Nargund, and Bangalore, and Tumkur.

Speaking at the occasion, Manoj Balachandran, Leader, Corporate Social Responsibility, IBM India Pvt. Ltd said, ‘Today technology forces are creating new ecosystems that are transforming operating models- including learning and skills development.  We are extremely proud to see that these new-age learners, many who are not from urban Bangalore, are adapting to digital platform learning and becoming adaptive leaders. The skills development collaboration with education institutions and our program partners; the response we received from new age employers – with over 750 students receiving new collar employment offers – more than 60%  of these students being girls – indicating that the ecosystem is gearing up for the skills and jobs of the future.”

Ashok Pamidi, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation, said, “Today, India enjoys a demographic dividend where more than 50% of its population is in working age group and the youth surge presents an opportunity for our country to enhance its growth as well as source skills to the rest of the world. Most of these youth study in non-technical degree colleges, and the IBM new collar program focuses on making these students employable in the tech industry. We are delighted to see this new and unique initiative succeed and we are happy to share that we will be continuing this partnership for the second year as well and make 2500 more students from non-tech  institutes employable.”

Post the training, NASSCOM Foundation, IBM, with its training partners, has been conducting various placement drives and has already placed 800+ students from the program in organizations like HGS, HCL Technologies, Mphasis, among others.

IBM new collar skilling initiatives in India also include:

  • Early last year, IBM announced a significant engagement in India to advance the skills and careers of more than 200,000 (2 lakh) female students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. Today, IBM has collaborations with state governments including —Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Bihar, and Punjab. The program will enroll more schools across the country in the coming months
  • A two-year Advanced Diploma Programme in emerging technologies have been created in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, which will be available to 100 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), including 50 all-women ITIs, over the next three years. IBM also offered internships of up to five months to some students, presenting an opportunity for them to further deepen their skills and understanding in emerging fields such as Cloud and AI. Currently, 40 ITI’s have been enlisted to initiate the 2 years diploma program in this academic year
  • IBM also announced the launch of Skills Build platform in collaboration with Directorate General of Training under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). As part of the program, a two-year advanced diploma in IT, networking and cloud computing, co-created and designed by IBM, will be offered at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) & National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).

IMPACT in Numbers

  • Trained and Certified: 2537
  • Colleges: 27
  • Trainers: TMI and iPrimed
  • Placed: 810**

Program Impact example:

Sweta Badiger a final year BSc student from Karnataka Science College was not confident that she will be able to secure a job offer post her graduation. Her brother had graduated a few years ago and still remains unemployed. Proving financial support to her family was crtical – her father being the only earning member.

The IBM cloud computing course training that Sweta joined helped her gain the much required knowledge and insights into the world of technologies and jobs. The training helped Sweta not only to be at par with industry skills requirements but also be job-ready. Today Sweta has a job offer from a well respected bangalore based IT firm for the role of a ‘junior software engineer’ – a job opportunity and a role she didn’t expect to secure so early. Now she can not only support her father, but also grow to be a great career woman.

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