Microsoft, Shell collaborate on digital skilling for non-IT students

In line with their joint commitment to empower the workforce of tomorrow with future-ready skills, Shell and Microsoft announced a collaboration to impart digital skills to students in vocational education institutes. The project aims to enable 5,000 underserved youth across 24 government institutes with digital productivity and employability skills and prepare them for digital careers in manufacturing and energy sectors.

Emerging technologies are changing the nature of jobs and redefining the scope of productivity in every sector. Job roles across sectors that typically did not require digital skills earlier demand foundational digital skills to adapt with new requirements. The addition of digital curriculum to the training offered in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics will enable the students in non-IT trades to enhance skills for jobs.

With a goal to enable livelihood opportunities for students in ITI and polytechnic trades such as electrician, electrical engineering, fashion designing, and more, the first phase of the program will focus on creating awareness about digital employment opportunities across Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Further, the initiative will support the enhancement of digital learning labs at these institutes and build the capacity of faculty members to sustain the outcomes of the program. SRF Foundation will deploy the program in each of the states and provide 240 hours of training, which includes modules on data analytics and sustainability at the workplace.

Latika Taneja, Head of Corporate Relations, Shell India, said, “Shell India is committed to support reskilling and upskilling programs to take employment opportunities within evolving energy and manufacturing markets, closer to the community. This collaboration between Shell and Microsoft will help create a future ready workforce and open new avenues of learning and job opportunities for students in ITI and polytechnic colleges.”

Gunjan Patel, Director, Microsoft Philanthropies India, said, “In today’s digital-driven economy, it is critical to equip the youth in vocational education, especially in non-IT trades with digital skills to meet the demands of the rapidly transforming sectors. We are excited to join forces with Shell on this crucial initiative empowering skills for jobs and look forward to making a positive impact on the youth of India.”.

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 20,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida, and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian startups, businesses, and government organizations.