The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has entered into a partnership with HCLTech to bridge the skills gap, particularly in the technology and engineering sectors. Under this collaboration, both the organisations will work together to promote the adoption of technology among learners from diverse backgrounds and explore new global markets and business opportunities, a statement from HCLTech notified.
The agreement was exchanged by Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC and C Vijayakumar, CEO and Managing Director, HCLTech. This partnership comes shortly after the recent G20’s Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting, which achieved consensus on deliverables in three discussion areas: digital skilling, digital economy and digital public infrastructure, the statement added.
It also said that this partnership will enable NSDC and HCLTech to transform the assessment landscape and digital learning by introducing digital assessments in tech and non-tech-based courses (B2B & B2C). There is also scope for collaborating on the creation of new products and programmes to enhance talent with flexibility and scale. Additionally, to ensure that every Indian has access to quality training, the focus will be on enhancing the impact of learning by jointly developing and offering industry-relevant resources and tools.
Tiwari said in the statement, “NSDC and HCLTech are entering into this partnership with a commitment to enhance the trust in job markets. Both organisations will jointly develop an assessment platform where students and working professionals can get themselves assessed and certified for skills in demand. This is a significant step towards moving from qualification-based hiring to skill-based hiring. Both parties will also collaborate to offer reskilling and upskilling online courses to prepare for opportunities in a dynamic job market.”
It is estimated that the assessments market is expected to grow to $10B+ by 2027. North America accounted for the largest (~40 per cent) revenue share in 2021. Europe plays a significant role in international employability and rate of employment, hence contributing to the growing share in assessment services market. APAC market is expected to register the fastest revenue growth during the forecast period, the statement revealed.
Further, the statement noted that NSDC and HCLTech will also jointly leverage each other’s technical and domain expertise in the assessment platform, assessment and hiring test (both tech and non-tech), smart labs (coding and data science), learning programmes, faculty development and certification programmes, and advisery services for government and institutions.
Additionally, both parties will also collaborate in creating joint IPs for digitalising and digitising assessments, covering the wider landscape of skilling as well as educational ecosystem and engage in advisery services and positioning technological solutions.
Srimathi Shivashankar, Corporate Vice President and Global Head, EdTech Business, HCLTech, also said in the statement, “We are delighted to join forces with NSDC to leverage digital technologies to build a future-ready talent ecosystem for India and the rest of the world. I am confident that HCLTech’s proven career shaper learning and assessments platforms and NSDC experience in talent and nation building can make a significant impact in how technology can be smartly used for skilling.”