US-based online education company Coursera on Tuesday announced its partnership with the Telangana government and non-profit organisation -- Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) -- to train 50,000 unemployed youth during the Covid-19 crisis.
The Telangana government, through TASK, has been proactive in improving the employability of its youth by investing in skills of the future.
With this partnership, TASK is making 3,800 courses on Coursera available to 50,000 unemployed youths across the state.
"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," Shrikant Sinha, CEO, TASK, said in a statement.
The programme aims to develop high-demand skills like data science, cloud computing, blockchain, AI, computer science, and the Internet of Things (IoT). 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.
According to the company, learners can enrol in the courses offered through the initiative by September 3 this year and will have access until the end of the year to complete the courses.
"We are honoured to work with the Telangana state, known for its inspiring vision, innovative policies, and commitment to creating a workforce of the future, as our first government partner in India," said Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO Coursera.
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 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 Telangana state joins many US states and countries around the world that are using Coursera to offer job relevant online learning to unemployed workers.