NSDC and WhatsApp launch “Digital Skill Champions Program” to fuel skill development and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth

~The alliance aims to support Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision to make India the Skill Capital of the World~

New Delhi, India | 24 June 2021: The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and WhatsApp today announced an alliance to launch the Digital Skill Champions Program that aims to train India’s youth on digital skills, in order to make them employment ready. Through this program, school and university students would be coached to imbibe digital and online skills that would culminate with WhatsApp and NSDC awarding ‘Digital Skill Champions’ certification. The course is based on a module-format, is comprehensive and intensive in imparting knowledge about important aspects of the online ecosystem, equipping students with technology-based learning on campuses across tier 3 and 4 towns and cities throughout the country.

The partnership identifies two broad areas of collaboration viz., WhatsApp Digital Skills Academy and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) and WhatsApp Business App Training sessions.

WhatsApp Digital Skills Academy: As part of the Digital Skill Academies, young adults from tier 3 and 4 cities will be trained on critical aspects of digital safety and online privacy. These digital academies will deliver safe technology-based learning among the youth and train them on taking charge of their safety online as they embark on their professional journeys. The initiative will kick off with a pilot across 50 campuses in five states, namely Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The program will be imparted through WhatsApp’s project implementation partner- InfiSpark.

PMKK and WhatsApp Business App Training: WhatsApp will conduct training sessions to familiarise   Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra trainers with the WhatsApp Business app. The training will cover modules on leveraging benefits of the WhatsApp Business app and to make small business entrepreneurship aspirational for young skill seekers. The trained PMKK community cadres will further manage and administer the WhatsApp Business app training to youth aspiring to become small business entrepreneurs.

Announcing the program, Dr. Manish Kumar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) said, “In a rapidly evolving digital world, NSDC aims to extend scope of virtual learning for youth across India.  It aims to empower youth with new-age skills to make them employable and more productive in their work environment.”