Deloitte launches WorldClass programme in India to help empower women

Global professional services firm Deloitte has engaged with the drive for skill development in India, through the launch of its global ‘WorldClass’ programme in the country, which is specifically aimed at promoting education and skills amongst girls and women in India, who are currently under represented.

As economies across the globe have rapidly entered a phase of digitalisation, Deloitte has been among those most active in analysis the impact and repercussions of technological advancement on the business environment. WorldClass is the tool through which the firm addresses one aspect of this transformation.

Several analysts as predicted that the advent of technology such as automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning is likely to bring about a change in the nature of skills required to operate in the contemporary workplace. WorldClass is working to help people acquire these new age skills.

The programme aims to equip populations across the world in digital skills by 2030. To this end, Deloitte has mobilised nearly 300,000 professionals that it employs worldwide and the digital skills that they possess to engage in collaborative projects with businesses, educational institutes and governments.

WorldClass has now been launched in India, and has combined its goal of improving the skill profile in the country with another major social issue, that of gender equality. Women are underrepresented in nearly all sectors of the Indian economy and government, and several organisations have been involved in rectifying this situation.

In 2016, Accenture collaborated with READ India to provide educational infrastructure women in certain rural regions in India. WorldClass is substantially scaling-up these operations, with the objective of supporting 10 million girls and women in the country over the next decade.

Specifically, the programme will look to improve rates of retention for girls in school, in addition to attempts at enhancing their performances at a higher education level. For women, the programme will help with developing new age skills, consistent with broader efforts currently underway in the country.

Commenting on the launch, Punit Renjen said, “Our goal with WorldClass is to empower 50 million people globally by 2030, by providing them access to the education and skills required to find meaningful work in the new economy.”