Labour Ministry, Microsoft Sign MoU for AI Skill Push

• The Ministry of Labour & Employment signed an MoU with Microsoft to enhance employment linkages
• The partnership will expand DigiSaksham’s AI-enabled skilling initiatives, offering training in AI
• Microsoft’s Azure and AI capabilities will help strengthen the NCS platform, support e-Shram analytics

The Ministry of Labour & Employment has recently entered into an agreement with Microsoft to forge an alliance to promote Employment Linkage/Workforce Mobility through AI Training Programs in New Delhi on September 26, 2019, at the hands of Union Labour & Youth Affairs Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya and Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella.

This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to enhance workforce mobility & International Mobility through AI Training Programs as well as create better linkages between Employers and employees through its collaboration with more than 15000 employers and partners in Microsoft’s Global Network joining the National Career Service (NCS) Platform.

This will greatly increase the availability of formal Employment for Indian Job Seekers through the expansion of the national career Service to International Labour Markets.

The Employment Minister of India, Mandaviya spoke about how this partnership is a collaborative effort to create a better prepared workforce for the Global Labour Market, thus improving Employment Access and creating new Skilling Initiative Opportunities for Job Seekers.

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The Minister stated that Social Protection for Indian Workers has grown from a mere 19%, covering 940 Million Workers in 2015, to 64.3% Coverage of 1 Billion Workers in 2025. “By embedding AI into platforms like e-Shram and the National Career Service, we are fortifying social security and moving closer to our goal of social protection to 100 crore citizens by March 2026”, he added.

The MoU is an extension of Microsoft's DigiSaksham initiative, enabling Microsoft to offer youth the training programs in AI, Cloud, Cybersecurity and Productivity Tools. Nadella acknowledged the advancements made by India in the area of Social Protection and expressed how data-driven policy solutions like e-Shram are vital in unifying India's Disorganized workforce into the Social Safety Net.

Through this collaboration, NCS's Job Matching system will be updated and improved with Azure capabilities as well as AI-driven Insights on Labour Market Demand by Microsoft to create value for Employers, Training Partners, and Institutions across India.