Manipal Global, Salesforce ink pact for skill development programme

Manipal Global will build a talent pool of Salesforce Trailhead-qualified professionals with a B2C and business to academia (B2A) model by leveraging the former's best practices in higher education

Higher education player Manipal Global Education Services (MAGE) and global leader in CRM Salesforce on Tuesday announced the launch of a skill development initiative for the latter's ecosystem.

Under the initiative, Manipal Global will build a talent pool of Salesforce Trailhead qualified professionals with a business to consumer (B2C) and business to academia (B2A) model by leveraging the former's best practices in higher education. To be delivered in an online mode, the programme will entail hands-on learning, with an emphasis on mastering the skills. Upon successful completion of the programme, candidates will ready to appear for the Salesforce Certified Administrator & Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I product certification exams.

Announcing the launch, Manipal Global Education Services chairman T V Mohandas Pai said that collaboration is aimed at closing the gap between the current educational reality and the business need, by training young learners in advanced technology skills.

"With the post pandemic world driving digital adoption on a massive scale, the world needs a huge pool of future ready, highly skilled digital savvy employees who can work on leading edge technology platforms. With this collaboration, MAGE and Salesforce are uniquely positioned to meet the demand for future ready digital skills," said Pai.

Quoting a recent research by International Data Corporation (IDC), Salesforce India CEO & Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said that the Salesforce ecosystem will create 1,328,200 jobs in India by 2026. About 24 of new jobs created in India in the Salesforce customer base this year leverage significant digital skills — such as using automation tools, the Internet of Things ( IoT), and other complex applications. The programmes offered are designed to meet the significant increase in demand for trained professionals.

"Covid-19 has rapidly accelerated our planet’s gradual, decade-long migration to digital. Seismic digital-first shifts have resulted in the widening of an already large skills gap. A commitment to bridging the widening gap is fundamental to our world’s future success and prosperity. We are excited to be collaborating with Manipal Global Education in our endeavour to democratise digital skills, nurturing future-ready individuals and bridging the skills gap," said Bhattacharya.

The programmes will be delivered in two models. The B2C model, which upskills professionals for their next job, will be a Certification Programme targeting an audience with 0-4 years of experience will be available in India. The model will cover four modules, and Manipal Global will be providing job assistance as a value add to the certification within the Salesforce Ecosystem.

The B2C partnerships will have curated projects and use cases that will allow the learners an intensive bootcamp experience combined with real life case studies. These will allow aspirants to qualify for aspirational jobs within the top systems integration partners as well as key end users of the Salesforce platform.

On the other hand, in the B2A (Business-to-Academia) model that skills students for their first job, Manipal plans to introduce entry-level Developer and Admin programmes in the student’s curriculum within the University’s campuses across India, and potentially Middle-east and South-Asia. With the industry-academia skill gap prevalent, the higher education player aims to integrate the programme in the final semester of the course curriculum providing students the opportunity to secure employer connections for internship and job opportunities designed around the platform.

Meanwhile, Manipal Global Education Services MD & CEO Ravi Panchanadan said that through the programmes and collaboration with Salesforce, learners will benefit from the vast experience Manipal offers in imparting quality training in professional learning and emerging technologies. "This certification will future-proof their career," said Panchanadan.