NIIT to partner Microsoft for ‘Women in Tech’ initiative
New Delhi, India, October 01, 2014: NIIT Limited, leading Global Talent Development Corporation will partner with Microsoft India on its significant ‘Women in Tech’ initiative that has been designed to provide, attract and retain women talent in the IT industry. As the Primary Learning Partner, NIIT will utilize its nationwide network to train& certify girl students &women in the latest Microsoft technologies, through Technology Skill enhancer courses. This will enable young girls and women in the country to find suitable careers in IT and accelerate their growth in the fast-evolving IT industry. The initiative will target girl school students, young women students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) colleges, women IT professionals and women entrepreneurs.
Microsoft and NIIT – pioneers in their respective domains, have seamlessly worked together for over 20 years as strategic allies to benefit the student community in India. Further strengthening this association, NIIT will partner with Microsoft to accelerate awareness amongst girls & women students through a massive outreach program across India. Through its unique ‘IT Wizard’ workshops, NIIT will introduce school girls aged 13-16 years across 4000 schools to the exciting world of IT Careers. Further, a campus connect program will reach out to young women in over a 1000 colleges and encourage them to participate & contribute to the dream of a ‘Digital India.’
Keeping in mind the unique requirements of student audiences, NIIT will provide specialized consultation sessions & additional test preparation modules for aspirants to successfully validate their skills and acquire globally recognized professional certifications. They will have the option to choose from NIIT’s recently launched new-age programs – FutureSmart series of digital literacy courses, 8 new Technology Skill Enhancer courses addressing technology mega-trends such as Cloud and Mobile App Development, Big Data, Cloud Computing and Virtualization. Further, a new Post Graduate Program in Cloud Computing &IT Management, and a Certificate Program in App Development have also been launched. Participants will benefit from the convenience & new-age learning environments provided by NIIT’s Cloud Campus and Microsoft’s Virtual Academy.
As per a NASSCOM report 20-25% of the literate women are science and engineering graduates. Nearly 15% of women working professionals are working in the IT and ITES sector. With an increased awareness towards the business challenges and employment opportunities many Indian women are changing their outlook, and therefore opportunities for women have considerably increased in the IT industry.
Microsoft has recently announced its plans to train and mentor one million women students, women IT professionals and women entrepreneurs in the next 12 months. Accordingly, the Women in Tech initiative will impart technical skills, provide mentorship and further encourage women to join, grow and succeed in the Indian technology industry.
Speaking on the initiative, Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, said “Through the Women in Tech initiative, we aim to double the number of women in India’s IT industry over the next few years. We believe that women will play a pivotal role in enabling a technology powered economy. We are excited to partner with a proven leader like NIIT to make this program a reality and help us build a strong, successful women workforce in India.”
Vijay Thadani, Chief Executive Officer at NIIT Limited said, “NIIT and Microsoft have been strategic partners for over two decades now, with the unified purpose of developing contemporary talent pool for the Global IT Industry. The IT services industry in India is already at the forefront in terms of employing women. It gives us great pleasure to join hands with Microsoft to further open and accelerate challenging career avenues for Women in Tech.”
As an invitational offer, special scholarships will be offered to women for a range of programs till 31st December, 2014. Additionally, to give this initiative a boost, NIIT will organize about 25 Job Fairs in the top 10 cities exclusively for women aspirants during the next 12 months. Associated career counselling & mentoring will also be provided. Furthermore, NIIT will be hiring experts who would become lead trainers for the Women in Tech initiative.
Alison Cunard, General Manager, Microsoft Learning said, “As a woman in technology, I’ve seen first-hand how the right training can create great careers. I’ve also seen how getting women into technology builds more effective teams and helps both men and women succeed. I’m very pleased to be part of the Women in Tech initiative in India – it’s a chance for Microsoft to help women, and India, fill the IT-skills gap and build an economy for the 21st century. We’re proud to work with partners such as NIIT, and support their drive to create quality training and new opportunities.”
Over more than two decades, NIIT and Microsoft have collaborated to introduce path-breaking technologies in India like Windows NT 4.0 and Exchange 5.0, Visual Studio and SQL Server to name a few. NIIT was the first to introduce .NET and C# as “Technology of the Year” in 2001. Post GNIIT integration in 2008 with Microsoft, NIIT has trained over 1, 00,000 students on Microsoft technologies and contributed over 75,000 Microsoft Certified Professionals to the IT industry.
