Nokia and NIIT launch 5G certification program in India

NIIT Limited, a global skills and talent development company and leading provider of managed training services, is introducing Nokia’s 5G certification program to help industry professionals and youth aspiring for a career in telecom and IT to realize the full business potential of 5G networks in India.

The launch was announced over an industry webinar - "Skilling Digital India for 5G: International Certification Program", organised by COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) together with Nokia and NIIT Ltd. The Keynote address was delivered by R.K. Pathak, DDG (IC), DoT.

Senior Industry leaders who shared their views during the launch included – Mr. U K Srivastava, Sr. DDG, NTIPRIT; Mr. P K Bhatnagar, President, Jio Platforms; Mr. Sandeep Gupta, EVP, Network Strategy, Airtel; Lt. Gen Dr. S P Kochhar, Director General, COAI; Mr. Vikram Tiwathia, Deputy Director General, COAI; Mr. Sergio Fasce, Vice President, NokiaEDU; Ms Alison Burns, Head of Customer & Partner Learning, Nokia; Mr. Sanjay Malik, SVP & Head of India Market, Nokia; Mr Amit Aggarwal, CEO, IT-ITES Sector Skills Council, Nasscom; Mr. Sapnesh Lalla, CEO, NIIT Ltd. and Mr. Udai Singh, Chief Strategy Officer, NIIT Ltd.

Speaking during the occasion Mr R.K. Pathak, DDG (IC), DoT said, “In recent years, there have been massive strides in internet and smartphone penetration which has helped India emerge as a technology supplier at the global level. We believe that 5G will act as the next catalyst in India’s digital transformation. 5G will enable the government to formalize the economy and help it realize the role of telecom and technology in critical sectors like healthcare and education among others especially during the time of COVID-19. Currently, DoT is working with MeitY and other organizations to ensure India is 5G ready. This also calls for education and skilling to enable us to move forward in the value chain. I would like to commend COAI, NIIT, and Nokia on their efforts in skilling industry professionals on 5G through the launch of a first-of-its-kind certification program. I wish everyone the best in this much needed skilling initiative.”

Sergio Fasce, Vice President of Nokia EDU, said: “The companies and individuals who are best informed and equipped to recognize the opportunities of 5G stand to benefit most from this revolutionary technology and the critical networks they support. Nokia is excited to partner with NIIT and COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) to bring 5G certification to individuals and organizations across India.”

Speaking on the occasion Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar, Director General, COAI said “Building out an extensive 5G network is a mammoth undertaking, but finding the workforce to make it possible is a challenge. Even finding people to update and maintain existing infrastructure is a substantial issue for many companies. This 5G Certification Programme is a wonderful initiative to guide businesses into the new world of next generation wireless technology. This programme covers the fundamental principles and the technical pillars of 5G along with the key business aspects that enable the learners to contribute towards the 5G strategy and planning initiatives”.

“We are excited to partner with Nokia and COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) to deliver this innovative 5G certification program – a first-of-its-kind opportunity for professionals and organizations across India. NIIT strives to be ahead of the game when it comes to technology education and this certification is a big opportunity for individuals and organizations to prepare themselves for the 5G revolution pioneered by Nokia,” said Sapnesh Lalla, Chief Executive Officer, NIIT Limited.

The Nokia Bell Labs 5G Certification Program is a first-of-its-kind program that offer professionals across the information and communications technology (ICT) industry two levels of certification – Associate and Professional – that deliver essential knowledge covering everything from the basics of 5G networks to professional level planning and design. The Nokia Bell Labs 5G Certification Program has been launched with its Associate Level Certification Foundation course, and will be followed by Professional level certifications and courses.

5G is the key to achieve India’s digital transformation and the government’s ambitious Digital India vision. It is expected to create a cumulative economic impact of $1 trillion in India by 2035, according to a report by a government-appointed panel. 5G will usher in novel business models enabling Telecom Service Providers to offer innovative applications to individuals and to different economic verticals from industrial, commercial, educational, healthcare, agricultural, financial and social sectors. 5G will power massive broadband applications and create unprecedented opportunities.

This vendor-agnostic certification program, built on the principles of Nokia Bell Labs’ pioneering Future X architecture for the 5G era, is designed for business and technology professionals at communications service providers and enterprises. By having their employees gain a greater understanding and proficiency in the application of 5G technologies, companies will benefit from faster realization of 5G strategies and the competitive advantage of providing high value 5G services.

Nokia’s momentum in 5G is underpinned by the company’s continued leadership in cellular technology R&D and standardization. In November 2020, Nokia announced it had declared more than 3,500 5G patent families (each family is composed of several individual patents) as essential for 5G. Driven by world-class innovations from across the organization, including the renowned Nokia Bell Labs, it has played a leading role in contributing technologies to 5G, pioneering many of the fundamental 5G technologies and also working with 3GPP to establish 5G standards and enabling the rollout of 5G networks globally.