Infosys Foundation partners with ICT Academy to boost employability in rural India

Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic and CSR arm of Infosys, has announced a significant collaboration with the ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at enhancing the employability of young learners in rural India. This initiative is set to empower students across tier 2 and tier 3 cities by equipping them with the necessary skills for today’s competitive job market.

Through this partnership, Infosys Foundation will help establish ‘Centers of Excellence for Women and Youth Empowerment’ in over 450 colleges throughout India. These centers will serve as hubs for skill development, providing both online and offline training, and will facilitate job placements for the students. The training curriculum is designed to include 80 hours of core skills development, 20 hours of soft skills training, and various activities like youth empowerment summits and coding practice for real-world problems.

The joint initiative targets skilling 48,000 students over the next three years in fields such as IT, banking, financial services, insurance, retail, e-commerce, logistics, and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO). Infosys Foundation has committed a grant of over INR 33 crore to support this ambitious project. This investment is a testament to the foundation’s commitment to creating sustainable career paths for the youth of rural India.

Additionally, the initiative will utilize Infosys Springboard, Infosys’ flagship digital learning platform, to make education and skilling more accessible to students. Sumit Virmani, Trustee at Infosys Foundation, emphasized the importance of education in empowering the less fortunate, stating, “Through our collaboration with the ICT Academy, we will equip young learners in rural India with essential technical and soft skills, improving their industry-readiness and employability.”

V Srikanth, Chief Executive Officer of ICT Academy, highlighted the growing demand for a skilled workforce in advanced sectors and noted the significant job creation expected in India’s IT industry, which is projected to generate over 2 million new jobs by 2027.

This initiative by Infosys Foundation and ICT Academy is not only timely but crucial for bridging the skill gap in rural areas. By focusing on high-demand areas, the project promises to significantly boost the employability of thousands of students, ensuring they are prepared to meet the challenges of the modern job market.