Eight — that's how many Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the Ministries of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and IBM. The signing of these MoUs was presided over by none other than Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan on September 27, Wednesday, as stated in a press release from the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

The union minister shared that India, with its population, is brimming with potential. And in this scenario, it is very important to ensure that the youngsters of today have the right skills to excel in the workforce. This partnership marks a step towards the vision of a Skilled India using IBM SkillsBuild platform. He said that these partnerships forged today will go a long way in making our learners harness the true potential of technology, making them future wealth creators and entrepreneurs of society.

The collaboration between MoE and MSDE spans across three core levels of education:

- School education: IBM will provide access to digital content from IBM SkillsBuild for high school students, teachers and trainers

- Higher education: IBM, through its CSR implementation partners, will work closely with the Department of Higher Education, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT), National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training & Research (NITTTR), Chandigarh and state skilling missions to onboard affiliated students and faculty to IBM SkillsBuild and provide them access to digital content

- Vocation skills: IBM will continue its central partnership with MSDE and work closely with the Directorate General of Training (DGT) and respective state vocational education and skilling departments