Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced a collaboration with NASSCOM’s FutureSkills Prime Program. Under Salesforce’s One India Talent Program focused on skilling next-generation trailblazers, this collaboration will leverage Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform and will aim to skill 1,00,000 professionals, potential employees and students, in India, by 2024.
In a recent study commissioned by Salesforce and YouGov, titled ‘The Digital Skills Report’, nine out of every ten people surveyed in India believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for digital skills in their organisation. Additionally, 91 per cent of individuals surveyed from India, said that their organisation has plans in place to fill their ‘digital skills gap’.
To bridge this digital skills gap, Salesforce is leveraging the power of Trailhead, and NASSCOM will deliver free and continuous learning on the Future Skills Prime portal. The specifically curated learning maps on Trailhead (Trailmix) will aim to empower and accelerate an individuals’ journey towards building skills in emerging technologies and increase their aptitude in a digital-first environment. This collaboration will also provide learners with access to Salesforce career fairs in addition to providing mentorship opportunities, soft skills training and authorized certification aligned to the National Occupation Standards.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO and Chairperson, Salesforce India, said, “The pandemic has caused every industry to respond to the needs of its customers faster than ever before, with a digital-first approach. As organisations evolve, the role of technology will continue to accelerate the need for a digitally agile workforce. Trailhead is designed to remove barriers to learning by empowering anyone to skill up for the jobs of tomorrow. We are excited to be associated with NASSCOM to provide a platform for continuous learning and bridge the digital skills gap in India”.
Speaking on the occasion, Amit Aggarwal, CEO IT-ITES Sector Skills Council, NASSCOM and Co-Architect FutureSkills, said “Our collaboration with Salesforce is poised to skill learners to enhance their employability. It will enable them to build the skills required for the rapidly accelerating cloud-based application development ecosystem. The specially curated learning trail from Salesforce available on FutureSkills Prime will be FREE for all learners. The specific engagements like Trailblazer Connect through mentorship, soft skills and career fair along with instructor-led training, authorized certification aligned to the National Occupation Standards makes this association unique and will play a big role in accelerating the momentum towards achieving our vision of making India the digital talent hub of the world.”
The Digital Skills Report: Overview
The Digital Skills report is the outcome of a YouGov survey commissioned by Salesforce in March 2021. The survey reveals interesting results regarding the current capabilities, expectations, and requirements for digital skilling across industries and includes private, public, and not-for-profit organisations with 1 to 100+ employees. These findings are based on a survey conducted with 1056+ middle managers and senior management professionals across India.