NIIT


With a footprint in over 30+ countries and 35 million+ learners worldwide we are a leading skills and talent development corporation building a manpower pool for global industry requirements. The company, which was set up in 1981 to help the nascent IT industry overcome its human resource challenges, today ranks among the world's leading training companies owing to its vast and comprehensive array of talent development programs. As India's Most Trusted Educational Brand, NIIT offers training and development solutions to individuals, enterprises and institutions.

History

NIIT was established in 1981 by Rajendra S. Pawar and Vijay K. Thadani, graduates from IIT Delhi, with one million rupees.
NIIT conceived a franchising model in IT education for the very first time, setting up nine centers by 1987.
In 1986, NIIT began its foray into the software domain, beginning with Software Product Distribution under the 'Insoft' brand. The company also began offering advice and consultancy to large corporations on how to leverage technology and make optimum use of their IT investments.
In 1988, NIIT introduced many marketing and advertising strategies for the Indian market including the ‘Computerdrome’ in 1990. Another initiative launched by NIIT, was its Bhavishya Jyoti Scholarships program, launched in 1991, which was targeted at deserving and socially challenged students with an aim to improve their skills and employability quotient.
In 1992, NIIT launched its flagship program GNIIT, an industry-endorsed course with a 12-month Professional Practice for students seeking careers in the IT and non-IT sectors.
By 1993, NIIT began trading NIIT stocks on the Indian stock exchanges. In 1996, NIIT began its globalization journey, setting up an education center in Hong Kong. In the same year, the company launched its virtual university ‘Net Varsity’. In 1998, NIIT joined a handful of Indian tech companies to enter the Chinese market.
The company earned the epithet, the ‘McDonald’s of the software business’ by Far Eastern Economic Review in September, 2001. The same year, NIIT launched an experiment that was christened ‘Hole-in-the-Wall’ by media and drew international attention. The experiment was based on the ‘minimally invasive education’ methodology developed by NIIT R&D. It suggested that children, irrespective of their social, ethnic or educational identity could learn to use computers by themselves, without adult intervention.
In 2003, NIIT launched its MindChampions Academy with Viswanathan Anand, five-time former World Chess champion and NIIT Brand Ambassador.
In 2004, NIIT hived off its software business into an independent organization called NIIT Technologies Ltd..
In the area of training, NIIT launched its ‘Edgeineers’ program in 2005, to boost career opportunities for engineering graduates. In the same year, it diversified into various sectors such as banking, finance and insurance, Executive Management education, Professional Life Skills, BPM, and ICT education for schools. In 2008, NIIT set up NIIT University, in Neemrana, Rajasthan. NU, offers B-Tech and M-Tech programs in computer science and education technology, as well as MBA programs.
In 2014, NIIT tied up with National Skill Development Corporation to launch NIIT Yuva Jyoti centers, under the pilot phase of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Skill India campaign and the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana in North East, J&K and Jharkhand.
In May 2019, Baring Private Equity Asia had acquired controlling stake of NIIT Ltd in NIIT Technologies Ltd.
Acquisitions
In 2001, NIIT acquired Osprey, DEI and Click2learn in the US, to establish its e-learning and corporate learning practices in that country.
In 2006, acquired Element K, a leading provider of learning solutions in North America. The company was sold off in 2012.
In 2019, NIIT acquired Whishworks, an IT services and consulting company, specialising in systems integration and Big Data analytics since 2008.

NIIT Subsidiaries

NIIT has two main lines of business across the globe – Corporate Learning Group and Skills & Careers Business.
NIIT's Corporate Learning Group offers Managed Training Services to market-leading companies in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The Skills & Careers Business delivers a diverse range of learning and talent development programs to millions of individual and corporate learners in areas including Digital Transformation, Banking, Finance & Insurance, Retail Sales Enablement, Digital Media Marketing, and new-age IT. NIIT has incubated, StackRoute, as a digital transformation partner for corporates to build multi-skilled full stack developers at scale. As online and remote learning becomes mainstream, the robust NIIT Digital platform connects the corporate and individual learners seamlessly and provides an environment for improving learning effectiveness and efficiency.
NIIT's learning and talent development solutions, continue to receive widespread recognition globally. NIIT has been named among the Top 20 Training Outsourcing Companies for the past twelve consecutive years by Training Industry, Inc. USA. Further, leading Indian ICT journal Dataquest has conferred upon NIIT the 'Top Training Company' award successively for the past 20 years, since the inception of this category.