NSDC Partners With KnackApp To Counsel Youth For Skill Discovery And Career Guidance

Human capital mobility startup KnackApp Inc. and Government of India’s National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) partner to build India’s future skilled workforce.

The Skill India mission recognizes the need to tap into the hidden talent and potential of India’s youth and women through broad-based skill development programs. The Mission is the world’s largest human capital development initiative.

Over the last 10 years NSDC, a Public-Private-Partnership under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), has collaborated with the private sector, state governments, small and medium-sized businesses, industry sector experts, academic institutions, and foreign government agencies to build a vibrant skilling ecosystem in India.

Over this period, NSDC also fostered the growth of innovative business models in the skilling and vocational training space, including integration with education systems. A key aspect of this transformation has been the focus on technology-enabled innovations, including the development of the largest skill development management system and a system for skill provider accreditation.

As part of its strategy, NSDC supports emerging companies and technology start-ups offering counselling, assessment, skill development loans and vouchers, job matching, and more; and continues to focus and invest in future-of-skilling and learning systems.

In this first-of-its-kind effort in India, KnackApp’s robo-career discovery and guidance solution will help match candidates undergoing vocational training program with over 90 careers opportunities spanning across 17 industry sectors. Students and skill seekers will be matched to high employment jobs in sales, retail, construction, hospitality services, emerging roles (like data science, cybersecurity, startup team member) and evaluated for their entrepreneurship potential, by playing mobile games.

As part of the first phase of this partnership, NSDC is rolling out KnackApp with approximately 20,000 skill seekers in NSDC-accredited Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) that operates the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship’s flagship program, the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). The minimal instructions, available currently in English and Hindi, ensure that candidates with low literacy can access the application with minimal supervision.

KnackApp and NSDC will work together to guide students to relevant careers and jobs in an evolving and dynamic 21st-century labor marketplace. NSDC and KnackApp will aim to onboard more partners and undertake research to inform the design and implementation of skilling programs.