With the Indian e-learning industry gradually moving up the value chain, demand for instructional designers ” the cog in the e-learning business wheel ” is set to rise  Indra Gidwani
œThe aggregate revenue of the global e-learning industry is expected to cross $107 billion (Rs.680,948 crore) by end 2015. With India a major player in outsourced e-learning work, demand for instructional designers, the cog in the e-learning business wheel, has grown significantly to meet the exploding requirements of the e-learning business, observes Siddharth Naik, a senior instructional designer at the Pune office of Knowledge Horizon Ltd, an international knowledge organisation with its headquarters in Dubai.
With the Indian e-learning industry gradually moving up the value chain, demand for instructional designers ” whose number in India is currently estimated at 10,000 ” is certain to rise.
Instructional designers (IDs) are creating advanced and sophisticated e-learning programmes for students worldwide. With a growing number of foreign and Indian e-learning companies including Knowledge Horizon Ltd, Wavelength e-learning Consulting and Training Pvt Ltd, Lionbridge India, Learning Mate etc establishing operations in India and developing customised e-learning products for overseas markets, IDs, who hitherto wrote content for pre-designed programmes, are increasingly being called upon to design e-learning programmes.
Study Programmes
No formal qualifications are required of IDs. Anybody with a college degree and the inclination can opt for this career path. However, it™s important aspirants possess a modicum of writing and graphic visualisation skills. Diploma qualifications in e-learning are also advisable. Some major institutions providing useful learning programmes include SNDT, which offers a Masters in educational technology with computer applications (METCA); Symbiosis Institute, Pune which has a diploma programme in e-learning, and Knowledge Horizon itself which is planning to shortly introduce an online module on instructional design this year. Moreover, the Delhi-based Wavelength e-Learning Consulting and Training also provides online courses in ID.
Professionally qualified IDs have a wide range of career options. They can work with corporates to design, develop, implement and evaluate training programmes. In addition, government, universities, non-profits and healthcare charities are recruiting IDs, who can also work in multimedia, educational games development, online learning and other cutting-edge business organisations.
Remuneration Prospects
Typically, graduates sign up as content writers/junior IDs or instructional analysts and transform into specialist/instructional solutions architects. In terms of career advancement, as IDs prove themselves by undertaking and managing complex assignments, they move up the executive ladder and graduate to developing and designing end-to-end e-learning programmes.
With e-learning jobs outsourced to India increasing by the day, and knowledge development and dissemination companies rolling out the red carpet for professionally qualified and/or experienced IDs, pay packages have become attractive. Freshers can expect to start at over Rs.25,000 per month and after acquiring few years of experience, could take home a handsome Rs.1 lakh per month.
œObviously the demand for experienced IDs is greater than for freshers, as this is a new-age industry requiring a combination of academic and ICT skills. But freshers can hope to rise fast as they acquire experience of the e-learning industry which is growing at a compounded growth rate of 15 percent annually, says Naik, who has been with Knowledge Horizon since 2008.
Professional Profile
A mechanical engineering graduate, Naik began his career as an R&D engineer at Letrotek Systems Pvt Ltd in 1997 and moved to Geometrosoft Inc in 2000, where he worked till 2005 and simultaneously acquired a Masters in management sciences  of Pune University in 2004. Thereafter, he taught business management at the reputed Pune Institute of Computer Technology™s School of Information Technology and Management, prior to signing up with Knowledge Horizon in 2008 as a content writer and subject expert. Having honed his ID skills on the job, he was appointed senior ID in 2011.
œIndia is transforming into a major outsourcing destination even as the domestic market is growing rapidly with learning programmes becoming technology-based and available on mobile phones. Corporates are investing in easy-to-use learning management systems and people are fast availing e-learning options to bridge competency gaps. Therefore there won™t be any shortage of work for IDs, says Naik.