Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic and CSR arm of Infosys, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu, a non-profit organization, to increase the employability of young learners in rural India. This collaboration will aim to enable students pursuing engineering, arts, and science courses in tier 2 and tier 3 cities across the country to gain relevant skills that are necessary today for career development.

Through this MoU, Infosys Foundation will further help establish ‘Centers of Excellence for Women and Youth Empowerment’ in over 450 colleges in India, that will serve as hubs for skill development and training, both online and offline, as well as enable job placements. The curriculum will include 80 hours of training in core skills, 20 hours of training in soft skills, placement facilitation for certified students as well as other activities including, youth empowerment summits, and coding practice for real-world problems.

This joint initiative will aim to skill 48,000 students over a period of three years in IT, banking, financial services and insurance, retail, e-commerce, logistics, knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), and soft skills. Infosys Foundation has committed a grant of over INR 33 crore towards this project.

In addition, the initiative will leverage Infosys Springboard, Infosys’ flagship digital learning platform, to make learning and skilling more accessible to students.

Sumit Virmani, Trustee, Infosys Foundation, said, “At Infosys Foundation, education is the cornerstone of our commitment to empowering the less fortunate. And education must create pathways to employability. Through our collaboration with the ICT Academy, we will equip young leaners in rural India with essential technical and soft skills, consequently improving their industry-readiness and employability in today’s dynamic talent landscape. We are confident that this initiative will encourage our youth to excel across disciplines of their choice and create sustainable careers.

V Srikanth, Chief Executive Officer, ICT Academy, said, “As the industry rapidly evolves, the demand for a workforce skilled in advanced IT, KPO, BFSI, Retail, e-commerce, and logistics has never been higher. According to a recent report, India’s IT industry alone is projected to generate over 2 million new jobs by

2027. This initiative by Infosys Foundation is not just about meeting the immediate needs of the job market; it’s about investing in the long-term career success of 48,000 students over the next three years. For graduating students, this translates to enhanced employability and greater career opportunities. We are proud to collaborate with Infosys Foundation and be able to work towards building a stronger, future-ready India.”