NASSCOM, the Indian association of software and service companies, signed a memorandum of understanding with techUK, which represents the technology industry in the UK, to collaborate on tech skills and development.

The trade associations signed the memorandum during the first meeting of the UK-India Tech Alliance, in the presence of Baroness Fairhead, minister of state for trade and export promotion.

 “This landmark MoU between NASSCOM and techUK will equip people with cutting-edge skills in emerging technology fields such as AI and robotics,” NASSCOM President Debjani Ghosh said. “It is imperative that we train the workforce for jobs of the future to remain relevant in the new global economy; providing the UK and India with a valuable competitive edge.”

The memorandum commits the organisations to:

• Exchange knowledge and learn lessons from the FutureSkills initiative launched by NASSCOM.
• Explore the expansion of the FutureSkills platform to ensure Indian and British citizens are best placed to seize the opportunities future jobs will present.
• Work together to strengthen people-to-people and business-to-business links between India and the UK.
• Explore wider partnership to develop digital skills in both countries and encourage Indian companies active in the UK to deliver digital skills training opportunities as part of the cross-sector Digital Skills Partnership convened by the UK government.

“This is an important milestone for both the UK and Indian tech sectors,” techUK CEO Julian David said. “We have long worked together, but we are now deepening those relationships and will be able to collaborate better to provide people with the skills and tools they need to flourish in the new world of work.”