Empowering India's Marginalised Youth: The Need for Tech Upskilling
Hyderabad: Nasscom Foundation, in collaboration with Hexagon, runs the HexArt initiative since 2020, offering AI education to students and graduates, with a focus on women. This program aims to address the growing demand for modern tech skills, as highlighted in the 'Future of Jobs' report.
In Telangana, Hexagon established the HexArt.In AI Centre, promoting innovation among students. Nasscom Foundation partners with engineering colleges and schools in the region to expand AI education.
The Skilling and Employability Program ensures marginalized individuals acquire digital skills for employment. Collaborations with tech organizations provide technical training alongside courses in communication and personality development.
The program has reached over 6.4 lakh people, training 1.6 lakh youths, with a significant female participation rate of over 67%. These efforts contribute to bridging the digital divide and creating job opportunities, with an average salary of 2.6 lakhs per annum. Nasscom Foundation's initiatives reflect a commitment to inclusivity and empowerment in India's technology sector.
Nidhi Bhasin, CEO, Nasscom Foundation, says, “Empowering India's youth with new-age, deep tech skills is pivotal for the nation's global prominence and its trajectory toward becoming the skill capital of the world. The 'Future of Jobs' report by the World Economic Forum underscores the urgency for contemporary skills, as 60% of surveyed companies identify a deficit in such skills among job seekers. Addressing this gap, the nasscom foundation, in collaboration with Hexagon, launched HexArt in 2020—an AI education initiative offering courses in AI, ML, and robotics for school students and engineering graduates. Now in its fourth cohort, the initiative is dedicated to building a robust talent pool, especially for women that aligns with the future of technology, contributing to community-level growth in the realm of deep tech skills.”
Nasscom Foundation has consistently worked towards ensuring that marginalized youth in India are given opportunities that become a pathway to their success in the emerging digital economy. Our philosophy of TechForGood is designed to create inclusive growth and digital equity across India.
