Tech-backed skilling enters new frontiers

At the start of the millennium, it would have been impossible to imagine a world where every small business owner – even a street vendor selling corn on the cob – could go cashless. And yet, that’s exactly what has come to pass. With a market size of $31 billion in 2021, India is today the world’s third largest fintech ecosystem. Digital technologies have enabled wide-scale financial empowerment and inclusion through easy-to-avail, easy-to-use facilities such as fund transfers, benefit transfers, savings, micro-credit, digital payments and more. The Union Budget for 2022 proposed the establishment of 75 digital banking units in 75 districts through scheduled commercial banks.

The developments unfolding in fintech leave no doubt that technology can have a similar transformational impact on other developmental areas such as education, skilling and employment.

Until recently, skill development programs, particularly in the low-income segment, were limited to residential and classroom programmes. Covid-19 changed how learning and skill transfer happen. It connected learners and teachers in new, efficient and effective ways. Classroom learning went online using video collaboration tools. A few invested in Learning Management Systems (LMS) that offered student-centered learning options and assessed students’ learning behaviors and educational outcomes. In India, the EdTech industry grew from $735 million in 2019 to $2.8 billion by the end of 2020, fuelled by pandemic. Over the next decade, industry experts expect the market to reach $30 billion in India, according to media reports.

SkillTech is the next frontier in this continuum of learning. Learning and skilling are not restricted to classrooms, institutions, or experts anymore. This democratisation of learning and skilling will only grow. The challenge, however, is to ensure equitable access to the internet and devices for learners of all socio-economic and regional backgrounds. For this, we need digital tools and content customised to deliver measurable and scalable impact while catering to a diverse set of learners.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality(VR), and simulations to enable effective, scalable learning is limited today and are used only in specialised areas such as surgery, aeronautics, automobiles or space programs. However, given innovation seed capital, the same technology can be used for training for blue, white and pink-collared jobs.

Technology platforms are helping jobseekers and professionals develop skills needed to access jobs and grow career opportunities. For example HireMee, an AI-enabled rapid reskilling platform, offers a customised learning programme for displaced employees and has connected over a million youth from 800 Indian towns to suitable jobs. It uses a mix of classroom, remote and hands-on learning; immersive 3D avatar-based training for specialised roles and gamification to optimise skill acquisition.

However, the informal sector, which is largely unregulated and employs as many as 384 million people, does not have the benefit of such platforms. There is an unmet demand in connecting migrants and unskilled workforce to blue-collar jobs, helping them to understand the role requirements, work culture, salary, perks, health benefits and so on. While organisations like Bandhu.work and Apna are addressing this need, this area remains an opportunity for others.

Technology is also enabling greater transparency within workplaces. On Women’s Day 2022, a bot on Twitter, @PayGapApp, identified posts by companies, schools, hospitals, and nonprofits with the #IWD and #BreakTheBias hashtags and shared data about the difference between the median hourly pay for women and men in those organisations, debunking tokenism and elevating the conversation.

Data transparency is a powerful tool to promote accountability. Technology-enabled platforms that offer grievance redressal, compare working conditions and offer support networks could go a long way to improving job satisfaction and the lives of India’s workers.

Not all technology serves the agenda of inclusive development; but technology in the hands of agents of social change can accelerate the pace at which developmental problems are solved. This should be the guiding principle that will determine our progress towards the vision of India@100 by 2047.

(Sudha Srinivasan is CEO, The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation and AG Lakshmanan is Head -Future Perfect, The/Nudge Centre for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship)