First in India: 36K AP students get Microsoft skill certificates useful for MNC jobs
The government spent Rs.25, 000 to Rs.50, 000 on each student without burdening them and their parents
VISAKHAPATNAM: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday said it was a matter of pride for AP that, for the first time in the country, as many as 35,980 students from the state were given soft-skills training by Microsoft.
These students can easily get employment opportunities anywhere in the world, he said.
While addressing the students at the Microsoft certification presentation programme on Andhra University campus, Jagan said 1.62 lakh candidates are receiving training in 40 such soft skill courses in the state. The government was spending Rs. 460 crore for these students to learn the soft skills.
A total of 36,000 students successfully completed the training so far from Microsoft. The government spent Rs.25, 000 to Rs.50, 000 on each student without burdening them and their parents. This totalled Rs.32 crore.
The CM presented certificates to a few students and pressed the button for automatic distribution of all the remaining certificates online.
Jagan said the state government has taken a bold step to facilitate job-oriented education by revamping the curriculum through skill development courses in collaboration with Microsoft and other such entities in future.
Till now 1.15 lakh students have got internships in 13 MNCs. The higher education department has developed a portal called “Industries Institute Connect” for providing internships to students. Some 1,61,341 students have registered their names for this so far, he said.
Big-ticket companies also offer experiential job training to in-state students. The government signed MoUs with Nasscom and other companies for virtual internships, Jagan said.
A resident of Dabagardens in Vizag, Pinapathruni Naga Lakshmi, who received the certificate, told Deccan Chronicle, “This is a valid certificate for me. I completed my introduction to programming using Python. To learn these soft skills, I was required to spend more than `25000, but the government extended me the facility free of cost, that too from Microsoft. I thank the AP government.”
Navatej Singh Bal, India head of Microsoft and Saba Kareem, head of India for LinkedIn, interacted with the chief minister on this occasion.