Higher Edtech: The Catalyst To Upskilling In India The changing industry dynamics and increasing global participation in India's economy have made it essential for learners to acquire skill-based knowledge to complement their traditional learning methodologies
By Anish Srikrishna •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
The Indian higher edtech, or H.EdTech, sector has been at the forefront of providing skilling solutions to bridge the skill gap and meet the constantly evolving industry 4.0 talent requirements. It is also helping to develop a robust workforce with new-age skillsets to drive business outcomes in an increasingly tech-driven competitive environment.
These changing industry dynamics and increasing global participation in India's economy have made it essential for learners to acquire skill-based knowledge to complement their traditional learning methodologies.
It is projected that our workforce requirement for in-demand skills such as artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and cloud computing, among others, will rise to 22 million by 2025. There will be a substantial demand for professionals with analytical and technical skills across sectors such as BFSI, fintech, martech, sales, supply chain, edtech and so on.
The India Skills Report (ISR) 2021, released earlier this year, noted that only 45.9 per cent of graduates are found employable, highlighting a clear need for robust solutions to bridge the gap between academia and industry requirements.
H.EdTech will play a crucial role in addressing this crucial demand-supply mismatch and to ensure that our workforce is equipped with real-world skills to be career-ready. Here's how:
Bridging the skill gap
According to McKinsey Global Survey in 2020, 92 per cent of Indian employees agree that there is a skill gap in the employment landscape. The demand for reskilling and acquiring new skills is poised to become the need of the hour for working professionals.
Additionally, according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report, 50 per cent of all employees will need to reskill by 2025 as the adoption of technology increases. H.Edtech platforms that are able to curate highly customisable programmes to upskill learners at scale are the only solution to help mitigate the widening skill-gap problem for industries that have witnessed constant disruptions due to technological changes.
Organisations have already resorted to higher adoption of such upskilling solutions to meet the desired requirements of Industry 4.0.
Accessibility creates new opportunities
Edtech has become the universal leveller, making excellence in education accessible to millions that might have been shut out due to geographic or financial barriers. Edtech has given learners the opportunity to leverage the best resources in education to make firm strides in their careers.
Edtech companies have tied up with academia and industry to promote bespoke learning solutions, making upskilling accessible for learners who didn't want to take an extended break from their careers. With the demand for upskilling constantly growing, the higher education and lifelong learning market is expected to grow and reach $5 billion by 2025, providing learners with access to a wide range of skill sets.
With over 351 million Internet users in rural India, edtech platforms are steadily making their way into rural areas of the country to create new opportunities. They are providing new ways of learning by tackling problems faced by rural users. Edtech platforms are cost-effective and discard the need for a traditional classroom setting, meaning that users can now learn in the comfort of their homes.
The future is now!
A 2020 World Economic Forum Report also highlighted the need for skills of the future, especially those that involve technology, such as data science, big data, machine learning, AI, Web development, etc. We are already seeing a surge in the adoption of these emerging technologies along with Web 3.0 tools and platforms.
As per FICCI-EY's 2022 report, Web 3.0 and blockchain can add a staggering $1.1 trillion to India's GDP by 2032. Full stack development, blockchain, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, etc., will have an integral role in business expansions, and learners will have to upgrade to provide organisations with a sectorial edge.
The future will require the edtech sector to regularly update its portfolio to stay in sync with the industry requirements, as various skill sets might become obsolete over the coming years. These technologies would have the ability to run real-time simulations for our expansive workforce, break geographical barriers, and reduce the massive cost of physical training. The collaboration of private and public sectors, academia, and leading R&D facilities with edtech entities will facilitate the integration of advanced technology, create employment opportunities, and build a robust workforce to take up these challenging roles of the future.
