Apna, India’s largest professional-networking platform for blue- and grey-collar workers, has entered into an agreement with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to provide the first-ever professional-networking platform dedicated to the blue and grey-collar workers. For the first time ever, these candidates will be part of communities based on their verticals and skillsets.
The collaboration aims to provide access to the frontline workers to avenues of skill development, training, and community collaboration in their preferred language. This association will enable candidates currently enrolled/ certified through NSDC to build a digital professional identity, network with community, upskill and prepare themselves for opportunities.
The partnership will enable the two organisations to reach out and benefit an expansive pool of blue- and grey-collar candidates across India. The candidates will be encouraged and mobilised to utilise the skill-development resources available on the Apna app. The platform will also allow them access to free online sessions on ‘professional networking’ and targeted interest-based courses.
It will be open to all candidates undergoing training through NSDC’s fee programmes and/or trainees enrolled under government schemes, including PMKVY, being implemented by NSDC. The existing users of Apna will also be able to explore courses offered by NSDC-affiliated training providers.
The Apna-NSDC partnership will be facilitated through a portal that will be used to onboard NSDC- affiliated candidates. The users will be able to build their digital profiles on Apna app and use these profiles as virtual Apna Visiting Cards. Basis the professional categories selected, they will gain access to Apna’s vertical-specific professional community.
Commenting on the partnership, Vandana Bhatnagar, Chief Program Officer, NSDC, said, “NSDC’s partnership with Apna.co aims to provide an inclusive networking platform to the blue and grey collared professionals. In the current digital environment, our goal is to engage with skill seekers and skilled candidates and offer them access to a large community that can help them in knowledge sharing and seeking guidance from experts.”
Lauding the partnership, Nirmit Parikh, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer, Apna.co, said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with India’s largest skill development institution – NSDC and contribute to India’s growth journey by giving people access to the right platform to get trained and upskill themselves and become more employable. It is the time to invest in new ideas and approaches for skilling the youth. It is to be done in a coordinated, committed fashion, improving the potential employment outcomes. We see this partnership going a long way in contributing to the enhancement of lives of our blue and grey collared professionals.”
