On Wednesday, Microsoft said it has collaborated with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for imparting digital skills to 1+ lakh underserved women in India for the next 10 months.

The collaboration includes 70+ hours of course content, which will be made available free of cost, and it will cover topics like digital literacy, enhancing employability, nano entrepreneurship and communication skills.

The partnership of Microsoft and NSDC is an extension of providing digital skills to 1+ lakh youth in India.

A statement released said, "The (latest) partnership is focused on enhancing women’s workforce participation by equipping underserved young women from rural communities with the skills required to thrive in a digital economy."

Curating a series of live training sessions, the programme includes digital skilling for driving young girls and women, specifically freshers who are searching for jobs, and might have been impacted by COVID-19.

Microsoft India President, Anant Maheshwari said, "COVID-19 has accelerated India’s digital transformation and a workforce that is equipped with future-ready skills will be the key to unlocking the country's next phase of growth. Providing equal opportunity and access to digital skills for underserved young women will be an important part of this journey, ensuring an inclusive economic recovery."

Microsoft will deliver the live training sessions online through Microsoft Community Training (MCT) platform. Trainees will get access to rich content which are already available on MCT and will be provided a forum for engaging with peers.

Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, NSDC, said, "NSDC is nurturing a conducive ecosystem in which women across formal and informal sectors get access to appropriate skill development opportunities. Mainstreaming of content, delivery of training and use of digital platforms are keys to increasing participation of women. This collaboration will help in the economic empowerment of women.”

With this partnership, eSkill India – NSDC’s digital skilling initiative, there will be support in building the outreach of this engagement through the skilling ecosystem which includes sector skill councils, training partners, and training centres.

Students will receive a joint e-certificate upon course completion from Microsoft and NSDC.

Moreove, 20,000 young women from regions having least female labor force participation will be selected by NSDC and skilled by the dedicated skills for employability training programme for employment in IT/ITES jobs.

NSDC’s partnership is an extension of Microsoft’s global skilling initiative for helping 25+ million people worldwide acquiring new digital skills which are required for the COVD-19 economy and part of Microsoft India’s ongoing commitment for supporting young women for a career in technology.