According to a report by Accenture, 95% of the workforce believes that it needs new skills to remain relevant. Addressing the critical question of how CSR could help in re-skilling the workforce, a conference by NASSCOM Foundation called for an innovative approach, aided with intelligent technologies, to help people develop future-ready skills. The CSR Leadership Conference was hosted by NASSCOM Foundation in partnership with BNY Mellon and eClerx in Mumbai today.
“With Industry Revolution 4.0 technologies, we are at the threshold of what could be history in the making. On the one hand, we plan to use CSR funds to skill people on these new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Robotics, etc. and bridge the skills gap. On the other hand, we plan to use the power of these technologies to address various day-to-day problems and needs of common people while helping improve the social fabric,” said Ashok Pamidi, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation.
The panel consisting of leaders like Aloka Majumdar from HSBC India, Deepak Maheshwari from Symantec and Vijay Chadda from Bharti Foundation further discussed how India’s skilling challenge can be transformed into an opportunity. The conference further encouraged collaborative CSR by putting forth successful models and examples of public-private and inter-company collaborations.
Over the past 5 years the NASSCOM Foundation has hosted its flagship event, The CSR Leadership Conference – one of the largest IT-BPM industry specific CSR conclaves in the country. This year, the Foundation moved beyond its traditional venues of Bangalore and Delhi and hosted its first CSR Leadership Conference in Mumbai.
The conference brought over 150 delegates consisting of CEOs, CXOs, CSR Heads from the industry, policymakers, influencers, NGO Leads, Tech4Good champions, and social innovators under one roof to discuss innovative approaches to CSR, understand the problems of the present and then co-create a roadmap to a new, developed and inclusive India.
The conference ended with thought leaders like Santhosh Jayaram, Partner & Head, Sustainability and CSR Advisory, KPMG taking a closer look on corporate India’s contribution to development in the mandated CSR era, and its impact towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
