All over the world today there is an increasing demand for digitally skilled workforce. This is also because digital services are witnessing stronger growth than traditional IT services. It is expected that digital services will grow from the existing 14% to 38% of the total on IT services spends by 2025.
At the industry front however, more and more organisations worldwide are launching skill development programs for the existing and future work force. In India as well a number of corporate and edu-training institutes are launching skill development training modules-
Here are some of such initiatives in India-
1. Last February, Texas Instruments has launched the TI-RSLK to equip engineering students in the undergraduate level with strong foundation in electrical, mechanical and computer science concepts. The kit is based on a hands-on module-based design learning in core courses which also includes using skills for teamwork, problem solving and using industry design tools. The TI-RSLK Maze Edition helps students physically grasp abstract concepts while having fun competing and racing the robots against classmates. Students can solve a challenge, which attracts and holds their interest.
2. In March L&T Defence Inaugurated Multi-Skill Training Centre in Visakhapatnam for Skilling Youth in Warship & Submarine Construction, under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, which has the capacity to train 200 students per batch and is focused on imparting specialized skill-sets required for construction of warships & submarines. L&T would provide a stipend, hostel facility and commuting assistance to the trainees during the training period. In addition, skill development in computer-aided design software like AutoCAD, Catia, etc. is also included for the diploma holders.
According to J D Patil, Whole-Time Director and Member of the Board, L&T, Indian Navy envisions to be self-reliant by developing and producing a majority of the naval equipment and platforms within the country.
“Visakhapatnam, owing to its strategic location and presence of key naval establishments, is poised to be the epicentre of the growth story in this area. Hence, it is essential to accelerate skill-building to support current and future naval construction projects. L&T intends to support government’s ‘Make-in-India’ as well as ‘Skill India’ initiatives and enable Indian navy to be a builder navy. L&T’s Multi-Skill Training Centre is a step ahead in this direction, which would provide sponsored training to the youth of this region, including women, to build their skill-sets for warship & submarine construction, repair & refits,” he shared.
3. According to Manu Jolly, CEO & Founder, Digiperform.com, Honourable Prime Minister and Government of India’s vision and initiatives to focus on Creation of Jobs, is laudable. Nearly 70 lakh skill-based jobs have been created this year.
“Through Digital India Initiative, the Govt has empowered the people of our country digitally and through Skill India, they have worked on their skill development. Digiperform being India’s Leading Digital Marketing Training Company aims at imparting digital skill training to a million people and make them employable for their dream job. We are also hoping our Govt. will be creating more opportunities and enabling India to become a Global Super Power,” he informed.
4. In an effort to assist enterprise to leverage the exponential growth in the market, SpringPeople, a global corporate training provider, announced the strengthening of its corporate training portfolio in November 2017. The expansion added six new focus domains to its wide array of training programs, with more than 50 courses introduced in the domains of User Experience, Machine Learning & AI, Microservices, Robotic Process Automation, Cloud & DevOps and Big Data & Analytics.
Talking about the new courses, Mr. Ravi Kaklasaria, CEO, SpringPeople, said, “Digital technology can give the much-needed fillip to not only the IT- ITes industry but also to the entire economy. However, enterprises are not able to take advantage of the opportunities owing to lack of skilled talent. As we head towards a Digital India, the industry requires more than 50 percent workforce equipped with digital skills. The expansion of our portfolio is aimed at bridging this demand-supply gap and help corporates strengthen their technological prowess.”
The new focus domains have been chosen based on the enterprise demand for these training as the industry moves away from traditional IT technologies like Java and Selenium to modern cloud-based applications & frameworks that offer scalability and inter-operability.
With the emphasis on hands-on training, Spring People courses combine interactive instructor sessions combined with projects and assignments that learners practice through Cloud Labs that can be accessed from anywhere. Instructors provide personalized feedback, tailor courses and provide expert support to ensure that learners are equipped with capabilities that help their team/organizations meet their business objectives. The courses are hosted on an LMS that includes learner process automation for an effective end to end training management.
The new courses will help professionals and enterprises take advantage of the growing opportunities in the digital technology arena including government initiatives like Digital India. In fact, Artificial intelligence (AI) alone will create 2.3 million jobs globally by 2020.
5. Last August Skillsoft, the global leader in corporate learning, partnered with MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR) to curate the journal’s best leadership assets and deliver them to its 40 million users. This key collaboration kicks off a series of new, innovative content partnerships that will empower Skillsoft’s Leadership and Business Skills learners with professional training from the industry’s top experts.
Organizations and their employees can now access this elite catalog of content to enhance professional development, upskill their workforce, and hone individual career paths. “Our partnership with MIT Sloan Management Review supplements our own assets and underscores our commitment to building the most respected and up-to-date portfolio of Leadership training available,” said Bill Donoghue, Executive Chairman of the Skillsoft group.
The partnership between Skillsoft and MIT SMR provides organizations with engaging, on-demand corporate learning content that will groom, train and inspire management teams through a consumer-like interface (think Netflix or Amazon) that is designed to engage the learner.
“We see a growing need for effective leadership training to address critical skill gaps in today’s organizations and help increase an organization’s ability to develop talent from within,” said Paul Michelman at MIT SMR. “This partnership gives our content a new vehicle for delivery within those organizations that believe training their internal talent is paramount to creating a competitive edge.”