Chennai, Sep 19 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC) on Saturday said it has partnered with leading online learning platform Coursera to train 50,000 unemployed youth during the Covid-19 crisis.

The partnership is part of Coursera's global roll-out of the "Workforce Recovery Initiative", where any state and country can provide unemployed workers with free access to online learning.

TNSDC is making 4,000 courses on Coursera available to 50,000 unemployed youths across the state through this partnership.

"Tamil Nadu has been taking various initiatives to build a skilled workforce that companies around the world find attractive to employ," V Vishnu, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation, said in a statement.

"The present pandemic induced slowdown is an opportunity for students and graduates seeking jobs as well as professionals who are aspiring for a career growth, to equip themselves in future skills," he said.

The programme aims to develop high-demand skills like data science, Cloud computing, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

It will also include access to highly sought after professional certificates like the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, designed to train people with no tech background for IT jobs.

"Employability and skilling is a major challenge around the world, and Covid-19 has made it worse," said Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO Coursera.

"We are honoured to partner with the State of Tamil Nadu, known for its innovative policies and rich talent pool, during a crucial phase of employment recovery."

Learners can enrol in the courses offered through the initiative by October 31, and will have access until the end of the year to complete the courses.