IT training and education company Aptech has joined hands with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to launch vocational training courses in a range of disciplines.

The aim is to train over two million people nationwide over a 10-year period in sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), IT/ITeS, media & entertainment, and organised retail, according to a press statement from Aptech.

“NSDC has a range of notified curriculum for various skill development programmes. We will align ourselves with them and launch NSDC certified courses,” Aptech’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Ninad Karpe, told Business Line .

Aptech would form a special business unit within its existing organisational structure to accommodate this new line of business. As part of the agreement, NSDC would provide a soft loan of Rs 7.5 crore. The total project cost is pegged at Rs 10 crore. The company is also evaluating ways to provide learning through technology-enabled methods in remote areas of the country.

Karpe expects the move to help diversify Aptech’s revenue base. “Currently, 90 per cent of our revenues come from computer education. With this initiative, computer education revenues will come down to 60 per cent,” he added.

Aptech will establish 500 new centres and also use its existing network of centres for this initiative. Over the next five years, the company will focus on retail and BFSI.

“We are confident that Aptech’s entry in the skills training domain would encourage more marquee names of corporate India to get involved in the skills space so that the country is in a position to leverage its favourable demographic profile to promote a faster and more inclusive growth,” NSDC Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Dilip Chenoy, said.

The Aptech scrip was up by 1.2 per cent to close at Rs 50.75 on the BSE today.

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