BHUBANESHWAR, July 16: The Odisha Government has entered into a partnership with an online learning platform to train around 50,000 youths unemployed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in technological skills, a senior official said on Thursday.
Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) Chairman Subroto Bagchi said the tie-up with Coursera, formalised on the World Youth Skills Day on Wednesday, is a landmark in the state’s efforts “to globalise the competence of its youths”.
“The tie-up has also raised Odisha’s visibility through its forward-thinking approach,” he said.
The partnership is part of Coursera’s global roll-out of the ‘Workforce Recovery Initiative’ where any state or country can provide unemployed workers with free access to online learning. Around 50,000 unemployed youths in Odisha will be trained, a Coursera official said.
The programme aims to make the participants skilled in data science, cloud computing and Internet of Things, besides offering professional certificate courses, he said.
Rashmita Panda, Director of Employment-cum-CEO of OSDA, said the partnership is aimed at enhancing the employability of the state’s youths by upgrading their skills, particularly “during the present challenging scenario for the economy and the job market”.
“We are excited to collaborate with Coursera to provide our citizens with access to the world’s best learning content, giving them the opportunity to develop the latest digital skills,” she said.
Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda said, “We are honoured to partner with the Odisha Government in its efforts to transform the state into a global talent hub by providing broad-based skilling opportunities to its youths.”
Learners can enrol in the courses offered through the initiative by September 30. (AGENCIES)
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