byteXL Partners Microsoft To Develop ‘Future-Ready’ Technology Talent Pool In Tier 2, 3 Cities

The pan-Indian initiative – ‘XLerate’, supported by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), aims to impart training in new age and emerging technologies

While byteXL will spearhead the training programme and conduct the comprehensive programs, Microsoft will support the endeavour with necessary infrastructure, including sophisticated AI Labs that provide contemporary programmes for specialised education.

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Hyderabad: byteXL, one of the leading experiential learning platforms for IT career aspirants, on Monday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft. The MoU is directed to transform educational institutes in Tier 2 and 3 cities across the country and cater to the 360-degree developmental needs of its students.

The pan-Indian initiative – ‘XLerate’, supported by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), aims to impart training in new age and emerging technologies. This collaboration is aligned with the national vision of providing one crore internship opportunities by 2025.

In a short time of two years, byteXL has demonstrated strong capabilities of creating a significant impact on raising the employability of 1 lac engineering students across 90 institutes in 7 states. This established success of byteXL has been achieved by imparting the training through its seamless hybrid learning model and in-house developed analytics tool that assists in keeping a close track of every aspect of the student’s progress whilst undergoing the program.

While byteXL will spearhead the training programme and conduct the comprehensive programs, Microsoft will support the endeavour with necessary infrastructure, including sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI) Labs that provide contemporary programmes for specialised education. Students can also earn Microsoft certifications, once they complete the required learning and industry-ready skills.

Students from this programme will have access to Microsoft Azure and AI certifications, along with industry approved training modules. byteXL’s role in this collaboration will amplify Microsoft’s global skills initiative, which has already provided digital skills to more than 4.2 crore people worldwide.

Students in Tier 2 and 3 cities have faced challenges ranging from lack of access to quality educational material to exposure to global trends, and lack of industry exposure to scarcity of financial means to complete high-quality education. As a result, many bright students are forced to compromise on their higher education or move to Tier 1 cities for better educational opportunities. This initiative – ‘XLerate’ will be focused on addressing these concerns and ensuring that new-age, quality education and required industry exposure are made available at highly affordable costs. These would play a critical role in not only enhancing the ‘Employability Quotient’ of students but also help in the transformation of the institutes and empower them to produce quality industry-ready talent in the longer run.

Speaking at the MOU signing ceremony, Karun Tadepalli, CEO and co-founder, byteXL, said “This MOU with Microsoft is a critical step in enabling a developmental ecosystem for youth in India’s Tier 2 and 3 cities. The collaboration aims to transform technical education and reimagine the skills ecosystem through a robust and career intensive curriculum. Our in-house futuristic instruction methodology, coupled with Microsoft’s learning infrastructure will surely produce brilliance in employable students. Our collaborative efforts are directed towards the redefining of the traditional engineering colleges and in creating a globally in-demand growth spectrum for the new graduates.”

Indrani Choudhury, chief learning officer, Microsoft India, said, “Digital technologies will be key in addressing the skills challenge that we are facing today. Democratising access to skilling with a focus on employability, especially in Tier 2 and 3 cities of India, can empower large talent pools for the digital economy. At Microsoft, we believe we can combine the best in technology with strong collaborations like byteXL to better serve young people and create more opportunities for them.”

Deep Tech Insights 21-22 based on a large sample size of 55,000 students from 60 Tier 1, 2, and 3 institutes also revealed the changing trends and aspirations of the engineering students.

The student enrolment rates for specialised technology courses were witnessed at over 90 per cent and 67 per cent in Tier 3 and Tier 2, respectively, as compared to 63 per cent in Tier 1.

This is a clear indication of the increasing inclination of Tier 2 and 3 students to move up into the value chain. The trend for upskilling is also gaining momentum in Tier 2 students at 68.81 per cent male students and 43.96 per cent female students. Tier 3 students show a similar inclination to Tier 2 with 57.13 per cent male students and 54.63 per cent female students.

According to various industry reports, in the past 10 years (2012-2022) the Employability rate of graduating engineers is less than 8 per cent and 93 per cent of the graduating engineers in India lack the required IT skills to work in IT companies.