Learning is a never-ending journey. One, is always learning through direct or indirect means. The primary form of education from school gets us to get a basic understanding of different aspects but necessarily does not prepare us for our careers. When I moved to the USA from India, I realized that the basic computer coding skills I possessed were not enough for me to be employed, or even if employed be successful. I remember my employer allowing me to upskill myself in Datawarehouse in 1999, a month course followed by an internship. This had put me ahead of the rest of the curve and allowed me to scale my career exponentially in the coming years. Along with this, there were many soft skill training programs I opted for to keep myself growing in my expansive career.

Given that the current players are targeting the K-12 segment and are primarily focused on digitizing the offline experience without much technology advancement – we believe that the next version of Online EdTech is primarily focused on creating learning beyond schools as well as parallel education to give a holistic learning experience. Beyond K-12, we see that employer-led up-skilling and a renewed interest in self-improvement are enlarging EdTech’s TAM.

Hiring across early-stage startups is the biggest challenge that founders face due to the sheer low supply of quality talent. As a result, employers have assumed a higher responsibility for re-skilling or upskilling their existing workforce. We foresee that targeted training solutions (niche or horizontal) would become more mainstream for employers to tap into. Delivered online, during work hours would mitigate the challenge that self-paced learning platforms face of time-crunch and lack of peer support. We are seeing new business models emerge in cohort-based formats that provide learners access to curated content, mentorship support besides targeted training in niches such as Product Management, Design, Tech Sales, and Digital Marketing. Unlike existing higher-ed alternatives such as Upgrad, Simplilearn, Great Lakes which took a period of 4-5 years moving from a B2C to a B2B offering, cohort-based offerings are both B2B and B2C from day 01, are much more customized to individual job roles are more agile to incorporate latest trends and technologies.

With remote and hybrid work and constantly evolving job-roles, employers are also partnering with solutions offering nuanced leadership training. As more young professionals join startups instead of opting for b-school programs; coaching solutions become much more important.

While Lambda School popularized the concept of ISA, bootcamps and finishing schools are gaining momentum as they provide modular, flexible course options focused on employability and hike in salaries in the fields of data science and software engineering.

In the aftermath of COVID, we will begin to see fundamental changes to higher education which would have a significant ripple effect on the future of work too – Most adult learners are comfortable learning remotely and are now getting hired remotely, and then working remotely. Emerging tech through AI, NLP, and VR will continue to push the envelope for innovation and user experience.

95 per cent of the country’s population converses in vernacular, with a total number of 780 languages in India and 122 languages have at least 10,000 speakers. Ninety-five per cent of video consumption is in vernacular language. The vernacular opportunity is roughly ~10% of the current EdTech market.

Digital infrastructure spending: Increased technology adoption behavior is leading to universities increasing budgets for digital infrastructure spending. Tools able to add significant value in improving current processes and digitize offline workflows we be able to tap into the market faster than ever before. GTM timelines are expected to be smaller, end-to-end implementation faster. As B2C begin competition with schools and universities for students, technology will no longer become a ‘good to have’ but a ‘need to have’ – however, in most cases technology will never be a differentiator for institutions.

Ability to move up value chain: SaaS Tools, B2B Edtech services – once they gain significant traction – have the ability to move up the value chain and offer additional services – moving from a B2B model to a B2B2C model. Large

Economics & potential : Sales cycles will typically be long, and customer of acquisition per customer high – but strong B2B EdTech companies will have stickiness, high LTV, economies of scale and large margins. Full-stack solutions will be hard to introduce – players will need to develop a niche and expand. The B2B EdTech market is relatively not as large as B2C, but has the potential to grow significantly due to low adoption/ players in the space.

In absolute terms, the online higher education and lifelong learning market size stands at $0.5 billion at present, which could grow to anywhere between $4 billion and $6 billion by 2025 according to RedSeer.

The advancement of EdTech will in turn boost lifelong learning numbers further, as tech can offer working professionals the much needed convenience and flexibility to balance work and school with the added bonus that these professionals are willing to pay.

Making a learning culture inside the organization is a successful way to make strides in execution and advancement, as said prior, but moreover worker fulfillment and maintenance. Here’s why:

Knowledge is control – The more workers know and the more they can do, the more they can contribute to the organization.

More fetched compelling – Contributing within the advancement of representatives is less costly than rehiring and retraining unused employees.

Show that workers are esteemed – Bolster of persistent learning demonstrates that representatives are worth the venture which the organization is honest to goodness almost worker career improvement.

There are multiple variations through which working professionals adapt to new skills. The most well-known one has been Learning Sprints with vibrant communities; here individuals engage with curated content. These are short to long term programs where one interacts with peers and mentors. Digital marketing courses are a great example of such programs. Finishing School is another approach which employees are interested in. These programs are short and focused on salary hike or employability preference. And the last variant which has seen increased preference has been Hobby platforms. These are pre-recorded classes by recognized celebrities/subject-matter experts.

Persistently upgrading information or aptitudes can offer assistance to a worker in both their proficient life and individual life for a number of reasons. Here’s why:

Performance factor – Creating unused abilities and information can increment individual execution or competence on the job.

Career advancement – Extra preparing, instruction, or expertise improvement can offer assistance to accomplish objectives for those seeking a career way or needing to turn into an unused position.

Licenses or Certifications – Seeking after extra learning is additionally vital for those representatives who got to obtain or overhaul proficient licenses or certifications.

Promotions or motivations – Investing time to memorize an unused ability or get unused information can advantage work execution and impact future advancement or monetary incentives.

Personal enhancement – Frequently a person’s interface amplifies past the work they do on a day by day premise. Seeking after the extracurricular interface can lead to knowledge and advancements that open the entryway to modern, future opportunities.

Remain marketable – Remaining current within the patterns and progresses of one’s calling can offer assistance and workers remain attractive in their calling ought to anything later.

The learning process is slow and constantly in a flux. The employee as well as the organization need to give time to adjust to a new environment, study, and upgrade. There are endless possibilities available, but each individual should choose according to their requirements. With time it will become a habit that helps you to explore and grasp the knowledge about all the things that change continuously. Being consistent will show great results. Pushing yourself to one’s maximum potential is how one can reach the top of the pyramid. Every working professional needs to remember that the learning process is long, continuous and demands hard work. Once you find what works for you, the sky's the limit.

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Views expressed above are the author's own.

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