New Delhi, September, 2022.
Laying a strong foundation to bridge the
digital skill gap amongst women, NASSCOM Foundation and American Express have partnered to train
and upskill 700 women graduates through an
employment-linked training project, ‘Women Empowerment Through Technology’. Under this project, American Express and
NASSCOM Foundation are working with two training partners - FUEL (Friends Union
for Energizing Lives) and RCED (Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship) to impart women with technology-based
skill development and entrepreneurship training.
Ruchika
Panesar, Vice President and Head of Technology at American Express India, said, “There has been a significant uptake of technology across all
industries during Covid, and at the same time, the digital skill gap has grown
wider due to lack of facilities and financial aid. At American Express, we are
committed to backing equal futures and fostering diversity, equity and
inclusion while serving communities. Through this partnership with NASSCOM
Foundation, we aim to
empower women from marginalized communities and support them in building
digital skills for enhanced employment opportunities.”
Nidhi Bhasin,
CEO, NASSCOM Foundation, commented, “India has one of
the largest young populations in the world. In fact, this window of
opportunity, a “youth bulge” is expected to last till 2025. To ensure we
leverage this talent and demographic dividend, fixing the existing skill gap
becomes the top priority of the country. This will need us to prioritize
digital learning and skill development for which creating access and
opportunity is a must. We are honored to collaborate with American Express to
digitally train 700 women beneficiaries to upskill them for employment
opportunities for a better livelihood.”
‘Women
Empowerment Through Technology’ project focuses on training 700 women on various technical courses including
Cloud and Data Analytics, Blockchain, Machine Learning and Artificial
Intelligence. The enrolled beneficiaries will also be groomed through
non-technical courses including communication skills, holistic personality
development and interview skills. On successful completion of the program, the
women beneficiaries will receive a validated professional certificate and job
placements.