Telangana Partners with Coursera to Upskill 50,000 Unemployed Youth During COVID-19
New Delhi: Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK), a non-profit organization created by the Government of Telangana to bring synergy among government institutions, industry, and academia, has partnered with Coursera, the world’s leading online learning platform, to train 50,000 unemployed youth during the COVID-19 crisis. The partnership is part of Coursera’s global roll-out of the Workforce Recovery Initiative, where any state and country can provide unemployed workers with free access to online learning.
The pandemic has affected the livelihoods of 2.7 billion workers globally, with millions at risk in India. The government of Telangana, through TASK, has been proactive in improving the employability of its youth by investing in skills of the future. On the eve of World Youth Skills Day, through this partnership TASK is making 3,800 courses on Coursera available to 50,000 unemployed youths across the state. The program aims to develop high-demand skills like data science, cloud computing, blockchain, AI, computer science, and the Internet of Things. It will also include access to highly sought after professional certificates like the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, designed to train people with no tech background for IT jobs.
“Empowered by the vision of the Honorable Minister Shri K.T. Rama Rao Garu, the State of Telangana has been taking bold steps and policy actions to create a large pool of skilled workforce that companies around the world find attractive to employ. The present pandemic induced slowdown should be seen as an opportunity and used effectively by students, graduates seeking jobs as well as professionals who are between jobs, to skill themselves in areas that are less likely to be impacted by a crisis of this nature” said Shrikant Sinha, CEO, TASK. “We are excited to work with the world’s leading online learning platform to train our youth in the latest digital skills, taught by instructors from the best universities and companies around the world,” he added.
“Youth unemployment is a major challenge around the world, and the pandemic made it worse,” said Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO Coursera. “We are honored to work with the State of Telangana, known for its inspiring vision, innovative policies, and commitment to creating a workforce of the future, as our first government partner in India.”
The workforce initiative is part of the Coursera for Government offering launched in 2017 to equip government employees and citizens with in-demand skills. With this launch, the State of Telangana joins many US states and countries around the world that are using Coursera to offer job-relevant online learning to unemployed workers.
Learners can enroll in the courses offered through the initiative by September 30, 2020, and will have access until the end of the year to complete the courses.