Microsoft on Wednesday launched an internship programme for undergraduates to empower them with technology skills for employability. Unveiling the' Future Ready Talent Programme', the tech giant said it is a collaborative endeavour for students in their second year and upwards. The programme aims to impact over 1.5 lakh undergraduates, who will join the workforce between 2022-2024.
Under the programme, 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
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"The Future Ready Talent programme has been designed keeping the learner at the centre. With its Learn-Apply-Implement framework, the programme 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," Microsoft said in a statement.
As part of this collaboration, the tech giant 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 also ensure the curriculum is aligned to the National Education Policy, 2020. Nasscom's Sector Skills Council will provide the 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 the platform.
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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.
"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," said Anant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India.
In early 2020, Microsoft launched a global skilling initiative to help 25 million people worldwide acquire new digital skills. Over 3 million people have been skilled in India so far through the initiative. Microsoft is working closely with the government, industry and civil society partners on several skilling initiatives to make India's youth future ready.