Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC) has partnered with online learning platform Coursera to train 50,000 unemployed youth during the COVID-19 crisis.

The partnership is part of Coursera's global rollout of its workforce recovery initiative under which where any state and country can provide unemployed workers with free access to online learning.

TNSDC will make 4,000 courses on Coursera available to 50,000 unemployed youth across the state to develop high-demand skills like data science, cloud computing, blockchain, AI, 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.

Learners can enroll in the courses by October 31 and will have access until the year-end to complete them. TNSDC Managing Director V Vishnu said Tamil Nadu has been taking various initiatives to build a skilled workforce that companies around the world find attractive to employ.

"The present pandemic-induced slowdown is an opportunity for students and graduates seeking jobs as well as professionals who are aspiring for career growth to equip themselves in future skills," he said.

Coursera's Chief Executive Officer Jeff Maggioncalda said employability and skilling is a major challenge around the world, and COVID-19 has made it worse.

"We are honoured to partner with the state of Tamil Nadu, known for its innovative policies and rich talent pool, during a crucial phase of employment recovery," he said in a statement on Saturday.

Coursera has 65 million learners, including 8.7 million in India, and more than 4,000 courses from the world's top universities and industry educators.