In line with the Skill India vision, Microsoft has launched the Future Ready Talent program to empower India’s youth with technology skills for employability.
A collaborative internship program for students in their second year of college and upwards, the initiative aims to impact over 1.5 lakh higher education students who will join the workforce between 2022-2024.
“India’s youth is among the country’s biggest competitive advantages. Empowering this talent with the right skills to be self-reliant will be foundational to our long-term growth. The Future Ready Talent Program provides a holistic skilling experience that connects learners more readily with new job opportunities. We are proud to collaborate with a strong set of partners for this program, who are deeply committed to building a vibrant skilling ecosystem in the country,” said Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India.
The registration for the first batch will start on 15 September 2021, and the registration will close on 26 September 2021.
Under the program, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), FutureSkills Prime — a NASSCOM and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) digital skilling initiative, Ernst & Young (EY), GitHub and Quess Corp, along with Microsoft, will provide a holistic skilling platform, connecting talent to opportunity.
Eligible students can apply for the internship program here.
The Future Ready Talent program has been designed to keep the learner at the centre. With its Learn-Apply-Implement framework, the program will offer students an end-to-end experience, from digital skilling to working on critical projects in a sandbox environment to mentoring with industry experts and access to potential employers. As part of this collaboration:
- Microsoft will provide learning modules and certifications through its learning platform, Microsoft Learn, skilling students on topics like cloud computing, data & AI, and cybersecurity.
- AICTE will ensure the curriculum is aligned to the National Education Policy, 2020.
- SSC NASSCOM will provide alignment of relevant courses to the National Occupational Standards, linking these courses on FutureSkills Prime.
- EY will provide technology and industry mentorship to students during their internship tenure.
- GitHub will provide students with free access to the best developer tools via the GitHub Student Developer Pack, as well as the opportunity to collaborate on projects with other developers on GitHub.
- Quess Corp will manage the learner experience and host a virtual career fair for participants, exposing them to career opportunities across the Microsoft customer and partner ecosystem.
In early 2020, Microsoft launched a global skilling initiative to help 25 million people acquire new digital skills worldwide. Over 3 million people have been skilled in India so far through this initiative. Microsoft is working closely with the government, industry and civil society partners on several skilling initiatives to make India’s youth future-ready.
