Arjun Nair, Co-founder, Great Learning

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), youth unemployment in India increased from 10.4 percent to 23.0 percent in the last year. Fresh graduates in India are almost three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. While the pandemic has played its part, the limitations of our conventional education system to impart skills that make an individual job-ready plays a vital role in this scenario. Indian ed-tech companies are playing an important role in bridging this skill gap between university education and industry requirements to ensure our youth become more job-ready, by enabling them with relevant skill sets to create more employment opportunities.

The New Education Policy has given a fillip to ed-tech by enabling top universities to launch and offer online degree programs for the first time. Top Universities in the country like NMIMS, Shiv Nadar, Jain, and PES are partnering with leading ed-tech companies to create online degree programs that are in sync with industry requirements. This offers the young brigade of our country access to handpicked faculty, cutting-edge content and access to industry experts in top notch domains like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing and Data Science. 

Here is a list of top ed-tech platforms that are helping youngsters pick up the latest technology skills by taking up either certificate or online degree programs: 

Great Learning

Great Learning offers comprehensive, industry-relevant programs and degree courses in collaboration with academic institutions like Stanford University, MIT, The University of Texas at Austin, National University Singapore, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee, IIIT-Delhi, Shiv Nadar University and Great Lakes Institute of Management. Great Learning provides these programs in a blended mode, classroom mode, and purely online mode, relying on its vast network of expert mentors and highly qualified faculty to deliver an unmatched learning experience for learners in India and the world over. high-quality content on career critical skills like Analytics, Programming, Data Science, AI, ML and Cloud Computing.

Coursera

Coursera offers world-class training and development programs developed by top universities and companies. There are 4,000 courses on this platform, from over 200 universities and companies, including Yale, Google and the University of Pennsylvania. There are several types of courses and programs offered: Regular courses, specializations, professional certificates , master track certificates and online degrees from universities.

UpGrad

UpGrad provides programs in Data Science, Technology, Management and Law, to students, working professionals and enterprises. Upgrad programs are designed and delivered in collaboration with top universities like the IIT Madras, MICA, NMIMS Global Access, Jindal Global Law School, Duke CE, Deakin University, Liverpool John Moores University and others. This tech platform focuses to provide students with an industry-relevant curriculum, strong mentorship, and placement support.

Simplilearn

Simplilearn provides outcome-based online training across technologies and applications in Data Science, AI and Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Digital Marketing, DevOps, Project Management, and other critical digital disciplines. Through individual courses, comprehensive certification programs, and partnerships with world-renowned universities, Simplilearn provides millions of professionals and thousands of corporate training organizations with the work-ready skills they need to excel in their careers. Based in San Francisco, CA, and Bangalore, India, Simplilearn has helped more than one million professionals and 2,000 companies across 150 countries to get trained, acquire certifications, and reach their business and career goals.

Eruditus

Eruditus and its online division Emeritus, partners with more than 30 universities to date, including MIT, Columbia, Harvard, Cambridge, INSEAD, Wharton, UC Berkeley, INCAE, IIT, IIM, NUS and HKUST, offer more than 100 courses has a course completion rate of 85-90%, with offices in Mexico and Shanghai. Some of the courses in high demand include digital skills, digital strategy, AI and data science skills, Python, Machine learning, fintech, blockchain and cybersecurity.

Also Read: How ed-tech is changing the game for vernacular learning