Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic and CSR arm of software services firm Infosys Ltd, and ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu, a non-profit organization, have embarked on a tremendous journey to train 48,000 students in various fields over three years. The students will be equipped with skills in IT, banking, financial services and insurance, retail, e-commerce, logistics, knowledge process outsourcing, and soft skills, setting a new benchmark in educational empowerment.
According to an official statement, this collaboration will aim to enable students pursuing engineering, arts, and science courses in tier 2 and tier 3 cities across the country to gain relevant skills necessary for career development today. The statement added that the Infosys Foundation has committed a grant of over Rs 33 crore towards this project.
Infosys Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICT Academy to increase the employability of young learners in rural India.
Established in 1996, the Infosys Foundation supports education, rural development, healthcare, arts and culture, and destitute care programmes. Its mission is to work in remote regions of several states in India. At the outset, the foundation implemented programmes in Karnataka. Subsequently, it extended its coverage to Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
Through this MoU, the Infosys Foundation will help establish ‘Centres of Excellence for Women and Youth Empowerment’ in over 450 colleges in India. These centres will serve as hubs for skill development and training, both online and offline, and enable job placements. The statement further stated that the curriculum will include 80 hours of training in core skills, 20 hours of training in soft skills, placement facilitation for certified students, and other activities, including youth empowerment summits and coding practice for real-world problems.
Furthermore, the initiative will leverage ‘Infosys Springboard’, Infosys’ flagship digital learning platform, to make learning and skilling more accessible to students.
ICT Academy, a catalyst for change, was established to meet the skill requirements of the industry and generate more employment, especially in tier 2 and 3 towns, the rural parts of the country. The organization, with representations from the State Government of Tamil Nadu, leading companies in the ICT industry and National Association of Software Services Companies (NASSCOM) in India, has been instrumental in strengthening India’s four important visions on Skill India, Digital India, Startup India and Make in India.
