Oracle, the global technology giant, has launched Project Vidya, to train up to 500,000 youth and women in India, in the latest digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), Gen AI, cyber-security, cloud computing, machine learning (ML), data science and application development, by 2028. This was announced recently during Oracle CloudWorld Tour event in Mumbai.
Delivered by Oracle University, Project Vidya, the company’s comprehensive training and enablement service provider, will give learners training and certification in key digital skills, to equip them with essential skills for tomorrow’s technology-driven careers.
As a part of the initiative, Oracle has announced that the university will collaborate with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to train 100,000 youth and professionals from diverse educational backgrounds, including engineering, arts and science, to prepare them for employment opportunities.
“We are the principal architects of India’s skill ecosystem,” says Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC. “Through strategic partnerships and innovative models, we are building a skilled ecosystem that not only fulfills industry demands, but also anticipates trends, empowering Indian youth to contribute to the nation’s growth and development. Through our collaboration with industry leaders like Oracle, we want to accelerate the training requirements of our youth, so it can have a positive impact on their career opportunities and also on nation building.”
So far, over 80,000 students have been trained and certified under Project Vidya by Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC), under the state’s Naan Mudhalvan programme.
“Training and education are important pillars that contribute to economic development,” adds Shailender Kumar, senior vice-president & regional managing director, Oracle India and NetSuite JAPAC. “With India being home to the world’s youngest population, the opportunity for our youth is huge. Through Project Vidya and by training our youth in modern technologies like Cloud and AI, we believe we can make a significant contribution towards nation building and economic growth. Our collaborations with NSDC and TNSDC will provide essential and vital skills to our future digital economy. We are looking forward to expanding the reach of the programme and collaborating with states and skilling organisations across India.”
Delivering digital learning
Project Vidya will be delivered as a digital learning experience through Oracle MyLearn, Oracle’s comprehensive training and enablement platform from Oracle University, used by millions of learners around the world. The program will offer rigorous foundational training in cloud technologies that will then channel students to professional-level training and certifications – including in areas such as DevOps, AI, applications business processes, application development and data science – as well as additional training curated individually based on learning levels and educational goals.
Oracle University provides access to some of the world’s leading technology experts and practitioners to support cloud technology training and certification all over the world. More than 20 million hours of Oracle University learning content have been viewed by learners globally, and the program has trained more than 3.1 million Oracle certified professionals in the global workforce, including India.
NSDC is the principal architect of the skill ecosystem in the country. It is a unique public-private partnership (PPP) enterprise, working under the Central ministry for skill development & entrepreneurship. NSDC was established to catalyse the skilling ecosystem for private sector participation and be the strategic implementation and knowledge partner to Skill India Mission to build efficient vocational training initiatives empowering India’s youth.
NSDC provides support to enterprises, start-ups, companies and organisations that are creating an impact by offering a world of opportunities in futuristic skills to the potential workforce. The organisation develops appropriate models to enhance, support and co-ordinate private sector initiatives in skilling by offering funding support to eligible entities, concessional loans to the candidates along with other innovative financial products and building strategic partnerships.