With a vision to enhance employability and to upskill India’s youth, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and LinkedIn, the world’s largest online professional networks, have joined hands to provide access to free LinkedIn Learning resources for digital skills that are in demand in today’s economy. Under the partnership, 10 free LinkedIn Learning paths, consisting of 140 courses for a range of in-demand tech jobs, will be made available for free on eSkill India digital platform until 31st March, 2021.

According to LinkedIn data, Indian professionals with digital skills were 20% more in demand than professionals without digital skills in 2020. With this in mind, the LinkedIn and NSDC collaboration aims to enable a future-ready digital workforce by providing access to free learning resources aligned with 10 in-demand jobs in today’s digital economy, identified using data from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph. The 10 free LinkedIn Learning paths will help India’s youth develop the skills needed for those jobs.

Each learning path includes a series of video content designed to help job-seekers develop the core digital skills needed for an in-demand tech role, covering a broad range of skills from entry-level digital literacy to advanced product-based skills. Given the need for adaptable and transferable skills in the current times, LinkedIn is also making available for free, three additional soft skills learning paths on the eskill India portal.

As part of the partnership, LinkedIn will additionally be providing periodic labour market insights based on LinkedIn’s Economic Graph of 69+ million members in India. This will include in-demand skills, emerging jobs, and global hiring rates to NSDC to better understand the skilling ecosystem.

Dr. Manish Kumar, CEO & MD, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), said, “The pace of digital transformation is changing our workplaces and the skills required for the future.  NSDC is facilitating online acquisition of skills through new-age platforms to create a technically competitive workforce. Our collaboration with LinkedIn reflects our commitment to advance digital competencies and skills of young professionals.”

Announcing the partnership, Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn, said, “Upskilling will prove to be a crucial factor on India’s path to economic recovery. By making digital reskilling resources more accessible, we hope to level the playing field so that everyone has an opportunity to not just get back into the workforce, but to also reskill and obtain meaningful work. Our partnership with NSDC further reinforces our commitment to close the skills gap and help the Indian workforce upskill for jobs of the present and future. We hope to continue to use the power of our products and platform to build a more equitable and just future, and create economic opportunity for all.”

eSkill India, NSDC’s digital skilling initiative presently aggregates digital learning resources for 16.2 lakh+ minutes across various sectors and regional languages, providing the next generation of learners with the technology and skills needed to prosper in a digital economy.