Bengaluru, Feb 25 (IANS): Software giant IBM and Nasscom Foundation on Tuesday announced they have prepared more than 2,500 students from 23 colleges across Karnataka, NCR and Haryana to be part of the future workforce in emerging technologies like data science and Cloud computing.

These students completed the IBM certified course titled 'New-Collar Employability Skills Programme'.

"We are proud to see that these new-age learners, many who are not from urban Bengaluru, are adopting to digital platfrom learning and becoming adaptive leaders," said Manoj Balachandran, leader, Corporate Social Responsibility, IBM India.

"With over 750 students receiving new collar employment offers - more than 60 per cent being girls -indicates that the ecosystem is gearing up for the skills and jobs of the future," he added.

This programme engaged students through an on-campus approach in a 204 hour-long blended training model that uses online and face-face training imersions to build skills in new-age technologies.

Students from 23 tier-2 and tier-3 non-technical institutions were trained by training partners TMI and iPrimed.

"Most of these youth study in non-tech degree colleges, and the IBM new-collar programme focuses on making these students employable in the tech industry," said Ashok Pamidi, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation.

Post-training, over 800 students have already got placements in organisations like HGS, HCL Technologies and Mphasis, among others.