The world of technology is evolving by the second. Everyday innovations and innovative ideas are finding their way into our day-to-day lives. Knowing the current technological skill sets will be an asset in your quiver of talents. So, are you looking for a career in IT but do not have the time to commit to a full degree program? Or are you looking for a way to develop your skills and gain an edge in today’s competitive job market?

Look no further. In the second week of January 2023, the ICT Academy of Kerala (ICTAK) is starting eight Microskill Programs with up to 100% scholarship by the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission (KKEM). The deadline for registering for these programmes is December 25, 2022. To enroll, visit https://ictkerala.org/open-courses.

The Microskill Programs include Front-end Application Development with React, Robotic Process Automation with UiPath, Ethical Hacking, Software Engineering using Agile Scrum, Problem Solving using Design Thinking, Python Programming, Java Programming, and Business Intelligence with Power BI.

These Microskill Programs will offer a great way to gain skills and knowledge in a fraction of the time. By enrolling in these programs, you will be able to advance quickly in the latest technologies. With the right Microskill Program, you can easily find a job in the IT field or put your knowledge to use in other ways.

Let’s have a peek-a-boo at the Microskill Programs offered.

Your programming language partners

Many times, we hear Python and Java together. Though they seem to go hand in hand, as they have strong cross-platform support and extensive standard libraries, they are different programming languages. Let’s see what makes them stand out in their unique ways and the benefits of knowing them better by joining the Microskill Program in Java and Python programming.

Python is a high-level, object-oriented, general-purpose programming language. Python has a lot of implicit data structures, which makes it appealing for creating web applications, and it ranked first in the IEEE Spectrum ranking of programming languages for 2020. So, this programming language is one of the most crucial skills you can learn, regardless of whether you work in artificial intelligence or finance or want to pursue a career in web development or data science. Python has advanced job roles with high potential pay in big businesses.

The Microskill Program on Python Programming focuses on installing python, learning its fundamental building blocks, understanding databases, and using python for web development. An additional topic covered in this program is web application deployment. 

If python is a high-level, object-oriented, general-purpose programming language, Java is the primary programming language used by Android and many enterprise web applications. According to the TIOBE index for the popularity of programming languages, Java stands at the top of the popularity index as the most used programming language consistently over the past years. As the number of users of devices like smartphones and tablets keeps growing, there is a massive demand for the applications that run on these devices. Java is the backbone of 80 percent of these mobile applications. 

Java ranked second in the IEEE Spectrum rankings of top programming languages in 2020. According to Burning Glass, the average salary for Java is $102,000, making Java a widely used and highly applicable language. 

This Microskill Program in Java Programming assists students in developing a solid foundation in Java, a simple yet powerful programming language in the computer world. The program also envisages the fundamentals of programming with Java, discovering solutions to common Java programming challenges, and building desktop and web applications with Java. 

React – the building block

React is an advanced technology that enables developers to create sophisticated web applications with Javascript. It is commonly used to develop modern front-end web applications and is gaining popularity among developers due to its dynamic features. With React, developers can create web applications with quality features and a better user experience. React is used to build thousands of websites, making it an invaluable tool for UI engineers, full-stack developers, and other professionals in the web development field.

As the demand for web apps and startups is growing, the requirement for developers with React skills is on the rise, and this technology has the potential to help you build a fruitful career in web development, UI engineering, or full-stack development.

Joining the Microskill Program in Front-end Application Development with React will help you to learn how to develop and handle the front-end side of web development, cloud computing, etc. Familiarize with the client-side Javascript library and React. How to use React features, including Components, Lifecycle, and Hooks, and learning different Hosting techniques, etc.

RPA – easing your tasks

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a booming industry in the digitally-driven economy. It employs software to automate high-volume, repetitive tasks that would otherwise require human labor. RPA helps businesses save time and money with error-free operations. RPA bots with AI can help organizations make their processes more efficient and error-free. It can be integrated with Big Data and IoT to analyze real-time data while processing. The demand for RPA is rising due to its ability to replace mundane digital tasks. Global RPA software revenue is estimated to reach $1.89 billion in 2021, a 19.5% increase from 2020. 

Learners will gain hands-on experience creating software bots and automating processes through this Robotic Process Automation with Uipath Microskill Program. In addition, the learner will also become familiar with fundamental UI Automation Concepts Master, installation of UiPath Studio on Windows, and the ability to create and debug workflow using UiPath.

Hacking in an ethical way 

Ethical hacking is a lucrative and growing field with plenty of exciting and well-paying job opportunities. Internet security and networking are the two fastest-growing industries for ethical hackers. The primary objective of ethical hackers is to find and fix any vulnerabilities that may exist in a network.

The talent gap may expand as the demand for ethical hackers grows. 

Due to a growth in computer hacking cases, renowned companies, financial institutions, and government organizations are increasingly looking for ethical hackers. The World Economic Forum (WEF) reports that the cybersecurity skills gap is rising.

Microskill Program on Ethical Hacking provides the necessary hands-on training to understand the techniques used by hackers and learn how to protect networks against them. Qualified individuals with the best training can find work as cyber security experts in both the government and private sectors.

Be agile

The agile approach, which emphasizes continuous delivery and improvement, collaboration, and openness to change, can help professionals enhance their productivity and the quality of their final products. Agile project management helps companies strike a balance between minimizing waste, cutting costs, and preserving the quality of the product. Rather than the overwhelming upfront requirements across multiple teams, agile teams can plan in short sprints with self-organizing teams, allowing them to respond to new demands or changes smoothly, releasing products sooner. The agile method is very flexible and could evolve into a significantly different product than was initially envisioned. It encourages companies to streamline their techniques and react when they see changes occur.

Through this Microskill Program, Software Engineering using Agile Scrum, one can learn the fundamentals of agile for software developers and why this approach is uniquely suited for software engineering. This program also discusses agile principles from the standpoint of developers.

Problem solving using design thinking

Design thinking is a significant design methodology that helps people find creative solutions to customers’ needs more quickly and efficiently. Understanding this process is beneficial for explaining the advantages to management and clients and implementing design thinking in the organization. 

With the growing competition in the global market, design-driven cultures that prioritize customers give companies a competitive edge. Design thinking is not just for designers but also for creative employees, freelancers, and leaders who wish to bring design thinking into all levels of the organization, product, or service to create new possibilities for businesses and society.

The Microskill Program on Problem Solving using Design Thinking provides an overview of the design thinking process, from identifying the problem and coming up with solutions to prototyping and releasing the product.

Business intelligence with power BI

Business intelligence (BI) refers to the technologies, applications, and practices used to collect, integrate, analyze, and present business information. The purpose of it is to support better business decision-making. 

Career opportunities in Business Intelligence (BI) are on the rise. Data professionals fill important roles within an organization, such as business analysts, project managers, and technical architects, which necessitate knowledge of different subjects. BI professionals working as consultants generally command the highest salaries, particularly in vertical markets with the highest growth, such as pharmaceuticals and software. 

The Business Intelligence with Power BI Microskill Program uses Power BI for extracting insights from data sources such as Excel and cloud-based repositories. The program will help the learners to work with various data sources, including text files, Excel files, and databases, create basic and advanced plotting techniques with Power BI and demonstrate the art of data storytelling for business intelligence.