Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced a collaboration with NASSCOM’s FutureSkills Prime Program. Under Salesforce’s OneIndiaTalent Program focused on skilling next generation trailblazers, this collaboration will leverage Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform and will aim to skill 1,00,000 professionals, potential employees and students, in India, by 2024.

In a recent study commissioned by Salesforce and YouGov, titled ‘The Digital Skills Report’, nine out of every ten people surveyed in India believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for digital skills in their organisation. Additionally, 91% of individuals surveyed from India, said that their organisation has plans in place to fill their ‘digital skills gap’.

To bridge this digital skills gap, Salesforce is leveraging the power of Trailhead, and NASSCOM will deliver free and continuous learning on the FutureSkills Prime portal. The specifically curated learning maps on Trailhead (Trailmix) will aim to empower and accelerate an individuals' journey towards building skills in emerging technologies and increase their aptitude in a digital-first environment. This collaboration will also provide learners with access to Salesforce career fairs in addition to providing mentorship opportunities, soft skills training and authorized certification aligned to the National Occupation Standards.

Comments on the announcement:

Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO & Chairperson, Salesforce India, said, “The pandemic has caused every industry to respond to the needs of its customers faster than ever before, with a digital-first approach. As organisations evolve, the role of technology will continue to accelerate the need for a digitally agile workforce. Trailhead is designed to remove barriers to learning by empowering anyone to skill up for the jobs of tomorrow. We are excited to be associated with NASSCOM to provide a platform for continuous learning and bridge the digital skills gap in India”.

Speaking on the occasion, Amit Aggarwal, ‎CEO ‎IT-ITES Sector Skills Council, NASSCOM, & Co-Architect FutureSkills, said “Our collaboration with Salesforce is poised to skill learners to enhance their employability. It will enable them to build the skills required for the rapidly accelerating cloud based application development ecosystem. The specially curated learning trail from Salesforce available on FutureSkills Prime will be FREE for all learners. The specific engagements like Trailblazer Connect through mentorship, soft skills and career fair along with instructor led training, authorized certification aligned to the National Occupation Standards makes this association unique and will play a big role in accelerating the momentum towards achieving our vision of making India the digital talent hub of the world.”

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Founded in 1999, Salesforce enables companies of every size and industry to take advantage of powerful technologies—cloud, mobile, social, internet of things, artificial intelligence, voice and blockchain—to create a 360° view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

The Digital Skills Report:Overview

The Digital Skills report is the outcome of a YouGov survey commissioned by Salesforce in March 2021. The survey reveals interesting results regarding the current capabilities, expectations, and requirements for digital skilling across industries and includes private, public, and not-for-profit organisations with 1 to 100+ employees. These findings are based on a survey conducted with 1056+ middle managers and senior management professionals across India.

About NASSCOM

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM®) is the premier trade body and chamber of commerce of the Tech industry in India. It comprises over 2800-member companies spanning across the entire spectrum of the industry from start-ups to multinationals, products to services, Global Service Centers to Engineering firms. Guided by India’s vision to become a leading digital economy globally, NASSCOM focuses on accelerating the pace of transformation of the industry to emerge as the preferred enablers for global digital transformation. Our strategic imperative is to build the Industry narrative with a clear focus on Talent, Trust, and Innovation as we continue to champion the need for diversity and equal opportunity.

About NASSCOM Futureskills Prime

India is looking at growing its digital economy from $200 billion (2019) to as much as $ 1 trillion by 2025 according to the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeITY), GOI. While there is tremendous opportunity for growth, there is also a need for upskilling the existing & potential workforce, with targeted programs spanning across host of emerging technologies. Composite skills will be the hallmark of the digital economy professional entailing technical skills, domain knowledge and professional skills. Recognizing the need, Government of India under the aegis of Ministry of Electronics and IT has joined hands with NASSCOM as a Team India effort to make India a global hub for talent in the emerging technologies. FutureSkills Prime (www.futureskillsprime.in) is a learning platform built by the government together with the IT Industry for the people of India. It aims to reskill & upskill around 4 lakh professionals in next three years with an objective to propel India into a leadership position in the digital world. The platform is supported by an entire ecosystem of industry players, technology provides, academic institutions and training partners.