New Delhi, April 2021.

Apna, India’s largest professional networking platform for blue and grey collar workers, has signed an MoU with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to provide the first-ever professional networking platform dedicated to the blue and grey collared workers. For the first time, these candidates will be able to be a part of communities based on their verticals and skillsets. The partnership aims to give access to the frontline workforce to avenues of skill development, training, and community collaboration in the language preferred by them. This association will enable candidates currently enrolled/ certified through NSDC to build a digital professional identity, network with community, upskill and prepare themselves for opportunities.

The partnership will enable the two organisations to reach out and benefit an expansive pool of blue and grey collared candidates present across India.  The candidates will be encouraged and mobilized to utilize the skill development resources available on the Apna app. The platform will also givethem access to free online sessions on ‘professional networking’ and targeted interest-based courses. It will be open to all candidates undergoing training through NSDC’s fee-based programs and/ortrainees enrolled under government schemes such as PMKVY, being implemented by NSDC. Likewise, the collaboration will also enable the existing users of Apna to explore courses offered by NSDC affiliated training providers.

The Apna-NSDC partnership will be facilitated through a portal that will be used to on-board NSDC affiliated candidates. The users will be able to build their digital profiles on Apna app and can these profiles as virtual Apna Visiting Cards. Basis the professional categories selected, they will gain access to Apna’s vertical-specific professional community.

Commenting on the partnership, Vandana Bhatnagar, Chief Program Officer, NSDC, said, “NSDC’s partnership with Apna.co aims to provide an inclusive networking platform to the blue and grey collared professionals. In the current digital environment, our goal is to engage with skill seekers and skilled candidates and offer them access to a large community that can help them in knowledge sharing and seeking guidance from experts."

Lauding the partnership, Nirmit Parikh, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer, Apna.co, said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with India’s largest skill development institution – NSDC and contribute to India’s growth journey by giving people access to the right platform to get trained and upskill themselves and become more employable. It is the time to invest in new ideas and approaches for skilling the youth. It is to be done in a coordinated, committed fashion, improving the potential employment outcomes. We see this partnership going a long way in contributing to the enhancement of lives of our blue and grey collared professionals.”