Salesforce recently announced that it would be partnering with the Ministry of Education to upskill 100K students in AI, through its Trailhead cloud platform, for fostering tech talent in India. In addition to this, the partnership will also be offering a virtual internship program – funded by Salesforce – which would serve as a great platform to promote the capability of the growing generation.
Salesforce, the world’s leading AI CRM platform, has decided to provide its free online platform to promote the growth of 100,000 students by collaborating with the Ministry of Education by 2026.
The collaboration aims to align with IDC projections in order to indicate that the global Salesforce economy, driven by AI, will create 11.6 million jobs and generate $2.02 trillion in business revenues between 2022 and 2028.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO of Salesforce India, highlighted that India’s talent pool, digital adoption, and innovation are all factors in the country’s technological dominance. “With this aim in mind, Salesforce is trying to build a promising career through strategic partnerships with Indian academic institutions,” she added.
According to CFO Amy Weaver, India is Salesforce’s largest ecosystem outside of India. By the start of 2023, Bhattacharya said that Salesforce India already has 7,500 employees, and aims to increase the number to 10,000 as soon as possible.
Tailored Programs
Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy also said that India should invest at least $1 billion annually for the next two decades. This would help accelerate the outcome of the NEP, he believes. There is a need for upskilling in the Indian economy to foster innovation.
The Salesforce program is designed with industry-relevant courses that follow the National Occupational Standards set by the Ministry of Education. This partnership is initiating this through mentoring programs, “train-the-trainer” workshops for educators, and direct links to Salesforce partners and clients in need of qualified workers, along with helping budding IT workers.
The Trailhead course material will be modified to fit the unique needs of the programs that the Ministry of Education, as well as other ministries, agencies, and organisations, have laid out. The personalised approach ensures students get the best benefits, helping them align their skills with the ever-changing needs of the industry.
An urgent need
Currently, a lot of major Indian IT firms are freezing the hiring of new freshers to reduce the size of their existing bench. Even then, with more than 500,000 graduates per year in the field of software engineering and technology, India is well-positioned to become a worldwide centre for IT talent, if fostered properly.
Yet, achieving this goal hinges on the careful and strategic expansion of these employees. The Salesforce-Ministry of Education partnership seeks to narrow this knowledge gap.
This collaboration looks forward to developing a new pool of talent within the Salesforce ecosystem by making it easily accessible to the upcoming generation of software enthusiasts. This initiative is further supported by the acknowledgement of academia’s critical role in driving India’s technological progress.
Through direct communication with Salesforce partners and consumers, the project aims to help students make a smooth transition from school to the workplace, thereby building a bridge between academics and business. This will be an essential criterion in producing a workforce that is capable of applying its theoretical knowledge to real-world situations.
Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, in the Ministry of Education, stated, “Our combined efforts can create a program empowering students with the skills needed for job market success. This collaboration will benefit individuals and contribute to overall personal growth,” he added.
Salesforce has always been upskilling
This is not the first time that Salesforce has taken the initiative to upskill Indian employees and students. In 2020, Salesforce launched its upskilling program for employees to close the knowledge gap caused by the impact of the pandemic. The Trailhead initiative was also launched in 2022 for the same reasons.
The collaboration between Salesforce and the Ministry of Education is a big step forward for India’s tech goals. Training 100,000 students isn’t just about education—it’s a journey to empower youth for success in the digital age. As Salesforce’s global impact grows, this partnership sets a precedent for how tech companies and education can work together, creating an environment where talent flourishes and innovation has limitless possibilities.
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