Employability skills: DGT inks pact with Cisco, Accenture to train youth for digital economy

New Delhi, Jun 14 (PTI) Directorate General of Training on Friday joined hands with Cisco and Accenture to train youth for digital economy by setting up a future-ready employability skilling programme for ITI students. The initial phase of the in-classroom training programme is being rolled out across 227 ITIs in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bihar and Assam, targeting more than 1,00,000 youth. Almost 15 lakh ITI students can access digital learning module through Bharat Skills portal.

Directorate General of Training (DGT) is under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Along with the implementation partner Quest Alliance, this programme will equip students enrolled in ITIs across India with skills for the digital economy over the next two years.

The companies have entered into an agreement with the Directorate General of Training (DGT) to roll out a comprehensive future ready employability skilling programme for ITI students, an official statement said.

"It is imperative that we as a nation adapt ourselves to the new age technology and skills which are market relevant today. Our ITI ecosystem has been one of the most outcome based network for skill development and this partnership today is a step further in enabling and empowering our industrial institutes with the latest in digital skilling," said K P Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

The programme includes tailor-made curriculum with modules for digital literacy, career readiness, employability skills and advanced technology skills such as data analytics, and a blended learning model enabled by a combination of online self-learning via the Bharat Skills portal and in-classroom modules.

The in-classroom programme will deliver more than 240 hours of training to impart critical 21st century skills, including digital literacy and digital fluency.

The online module is optimized for mobile phones to enable on the-go self-learning, and the toolkit also includes train the trainer resources.

Cisco will also provide access to Networking Academy courses directly to ITI students across the country.

DGT and Cisco have decided to work together for the purpose of expanding digital skills to ITI educational system across India, the statement said.