NIIT to train 20,000 students on IoT, robotics, VR

New Delhi: Skills and talent development firm NIIT aims to train about 20,000 students this year on future technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and virtual reality (VR) to meet the changing skill set requirement of various industries.

The company will launch the new courses from next month to be offered from its centres and later extend them to engineering colleges later.

"We have been a global leader in skills and talent development. Once again, we want to revolutionise the landscape by introducing these pioneering programmes. Looking at the digital transformation across industry verticals, we want to create a talent pool that is equipped with skill sets required," NIIT President (Global Skills and Careers Group) Prakash Menon told PTI.

These programmes will cover Java Stack, Mean Stack, Big Data and Data Sciences Stack, Cloud Stack, IoT Stack, robotics and VR, he added.

"India, with a strong technology ecosystem of MNC R&D centres, service providers, IT global in-house centres and startups, is well placed to play key role in the digital era ...Our aim is to train about 20,000 people in the first year," he said.

NIIT will roll out 12-14 week courses from 150 centres and later expand them to other centres and engineering colleges as well. The fees starts at about Rs 25,000.

"The focus of the courses is building products rather than software. The students will be required to work on two projects for the course," Menon said.

According to industry reports, India is home to digitally ready talent pool of five lakh engineers suitable to execute digital transformation projects.

This is expected to increase to over a million engineers trained in digital transformation technologies by 2020.

"Owing to this growing demand, entry-level and experienced workforce with Digital Transformation Skills are attracting higher salaries as well compared to those with traditional IT skills," he said.