Relevance is the new skill

To be relevant to emerging job needs in any Industry will be the most important skill for the vast manpower that has potential to make India the knowledge capital of the world, says Aditya Malik

While two-thirds of our population is below 35, half of it is actually under the age of 25. At this rate, India is expected to have the world’s largest workforce within a decade. But when you juxtapose this workforce against skill and employability, there is a vast gap.

The purpose of stating this upfront is to justify the fact that the true driving force which can transform modern India, is the Power of Knowledge. We need to develop the latent potential of this vast workforce into an economic advantage and the only way to do so is by imparting skills mapped against industry requirement.

The competition for employment in the next decade is likely to get harder and only those that rise to relevance will flourish. With an increasing number of graduates entering the market every day and limited job opportunities, only those with value-added resumes will pass muster with businesses and employers.

Resumes that boast of additional relevant qualifications will have an edge for employability as well as growth opportunities.  Hence, this demographical transition has given rise to a need for acquiring knowledge and experience for the personal and professional advancement of mid-career professionals who are looking to re-skill to keep up with new and emerging skill-sets. With the future of the work force looming as an unsolved mystery, people need access to quick re-skilling to remain in their position, if not grow. For this reason, the country has seen a rise of online courses for working professionals and graduates entering the industry.

Although graduate students are willful to learn, there is a huge disconnect with what a prospective employer wants and what the student has learnt. The job profiles and skill requirements are ever evolving as per the profession, thus nonspecific and outmoded courses don’t suffice. Online courses aim to disrupt the age old pedagogy and curriculum of colleges and bring a fresh industry perspective to the learning methodology — ready for real-time application in the work environment. The courses choose practical, vis-à-vis, academic knowledge sharing having relevance and use to add value to ones profession.

Online courses are specific, flexible and relevant. They equip the students with appropriate learning opportunities without disrupting their usual routines. It is an impeccable structure for working professionals who do not wish to take a hiatus from work but at the same time wish to expand the horizons of their skills for accomplishing professional goals. Additionally, these courses are inexpensive in comparison to full-time offline alternatives, whilst imparting the same skill set. At the click of a button, it is now possible to access a variety of programmes and courses certified by established institutions. From technology to art, it’s possible to secure a certificate or degree in any field.

These set of courses are not just a stepping stone on an already chosen path, they also act as a medium to explore and comprehend something entirely different from one’s existing occupation. It can often provide a steady foundation for those looking to change their field of work while reducing the risk that exists with any such transition.

To elaborate further, we are in the middle of a technological uprising. A lack of awareness required to navigate new digital systems, in an employee, is a definite deal breaker for an employer looking to hire. Basic online courses designed for beginners satisfy this deficit with ease without occupying several resources.

Data shows that there is an increase in the number of executives looking to cultivate abilities in the recent developments in fields like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, machine learning and even cyber security. This is partially a result of the Government’s Go Digital campaign, so in support of that, it is now possible to learn more about digital developments and keep pace with new technologies.

Before the era of online certification courses, the entire process of securing a graduation was a mammoth task that required premeditated and detailed planning, not to mention sizable financial resources. From picking the right course, the right colleges, the budgets to be able to take a gap from work. This tedious process reduced the number of people who were willing to take this risk for their growth. The digital revolution has facilitated the availability of knowledge at a marginalised cost and has made learning comfortable and convenient.

An argument arises that these courses are not interactive which happens to be a crucial element in the process of learning. However, enabled by technology, these courses can actually replicate the classroom environment streamed live to a personal device. Lectures are live, allowing for interactive dialogue and a deep interface with the faculty; accessible anywhere to anyone.

The larger idea behind the success of this format is that it adjusts to each individual’s routine and not the other way round, which happens to be a vital factor for a vast majority of our youth. No one wants to be at a standstill and stop their incomes once they enter an industry in a professional capacity and they don’t have to be in this position for the reason that there exist credible portals that provide these educational services in our country. These courses are certified, backed by reputed institutions and often work on a credit based system like any other establishment. For the greater pool of unemployed graduates or working professionals looking to get enhanced opportunities, certification courses from institutes like IIM, XLRI, online interactive learning solutions are significant.

There are skill enhancing online courses in the field of finance, cyber security, and event management. The idea behind courses of short durations is to upgrade an existing area of expertise or add a different vertical of knowledge under the same.

The demand for cyber security experts is at an all-time high, so awareness of effective steps to prevent cyber-attacks and detect adversaries is a necessary progression for tech professionals lacking this knowledge. It definitely adds measurable value to one’s resume. Similarly, courses like equity research, financial modeling and company valuation boost capabilities of financial consultants as it equips them with insights that are important for both short-term and long-term decisions as they are privy to these proficiently curated set of courses. These are in affiliation with established institutions and mostly very significant to present scenarios.

So we do start with an advantage of a large workforce, but it only remains an advantage if they acquire relevant skill-sets and remain relevant. Online courses support this need and are hence here to stay as an important cog in the wheel for skill development in India.

The writer is CEO/MD, Talentedge