(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) Nasscom Foundation, in collaboration with nine tech SMEs, on Tuesday launched a project to address the skilling and employability gap among marginalised youth in the country.

According to the Global Skills Gap report, 92 per cent of employees in India believe that there is a massive skills gap in the country.

The new project aims to close these gaps through skilling 150 marginalised youth across Delhi-NCR, Trivandrum, and Pune.

The participants will be trained in high-demand domains like data analytics and Java full stack, complemented by soft skills development and career readiness support.

Further, selected trained and certified students will also be offered placement opportunities within relevant sectors, the Foundation said.

"By bringing together nine visionary tech SMEs in this cohort, we are not only equipping the young minds with future-ready skills but also empowering businesses to embrace inclusive and responsible growth. Together, we are creating a scalable model that transforms lives, fosters equity, and ensures that technology becomes a force for sustainable progress," said Jyoti Sharma, CEO, Nasscom Foundation.

Despite their critical role in driving India's innovation economy, many SMEs face challenges in executing impactful CSR -- ranging from budget constraints and regulatory complexity to limited awareness of CSR frameworks.

Recognising these constraints, Nasscom Foundation launched the collaborative CSR initiative in partnership with the Nasscom SME Council.

By bringing together like-minded SMEs under a unified CSR platform, this approach not only eases the operational burden on individual enterprises but also significantly amplifies collective impact.

More importantly, it fosters a strong sense of community, shared purpose, and mutual accountability, enabling SMEs to contribute meaningfully to social development while growing responsibly.

The initiative will be delivered in a hybrid model (80 per cent physical and 20 per cent virtual) through SME training partners, emphasising diversity and inclusion, with a strong focus on gender equity, targeting 60 per cent women beneficiaries, the Foundation said.

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