To address the gap between skills needed for high-quality technology jobs and work-readiness of graduates, Scaler (a platform by edtech startup InterviewBit) has launched what it claims is a first of its kind college-companion program called Scaler Edge – to boost the employability of engineering students. Additionally, to meet the growing demand for online skilling courses, the company plans to hire 500 more teaching assistants and mentors in this financial year.
As per industry estimates, 15 lakh engineers graduate in India every year out of which only 2.5 lakh students land relevant jobs in technical domains. Out of those, roughly 2.2 lakh openings are in software, within which a vast majority (1.8 lakh jobs) are in IT services garnering around only Rs 3-5 lakh per annum in remuneration. The lack of industry-ready skills is a significant contributor to the current status of employment across the industry. To address this discrepancy, a two-year college-companion program designed with input from top CTOs and engineers across tech companies, is being launched by Scaler to help students build industry oriented skill-sets and pursue career tracks of the future.
Estimates further suggest that of the available engineering jobs, only approx. 40,000 jobs (or ~3% of ~15L engineers) provide an ideal mix of autonomy and learning potential with packages upwards of Rs 8-10 lakh per annum for freshers. Additionally, of the 3% of graduates that land coveted high paying and high-quality jobs, the majority come from Tier 1 colleges—implying the lack of good quality opportunities for students from Tier 2 & Tier 3 colleges. The inequity in available employment opportunities across institutions leads to around 12.5 lakh engineers almost every year who have to reroute options and pursue non-technical opportunities to stay afloat.
In an effort to boost the availability of skilled tech talent, this program requires no prior experience in technology or coding and is open to students of all streams. Scaler believes that this program will be the only Edge a student will ever need to start their career in technology. Unsurprisingly, it was found that the most successful engineers and CTOs in the industry claimed 4 key pillars to be at the core of their success – mentorship, a strong foundation, hands-on learning and inspiring peers. The Edge program is built with these pillars in mind to give current and future students the opportunity that college students have long wished for. Year 1 of the program covers foundations in computer science, followed by students selecting a career track in year 2 out of the 5 most coveted fields in Indian tech namely: Data science, Machine learning / AI, Mobile development, Full-stack development, Back-end development.
This unique college companion program has been created keeping in mind the busy schedule of traditional universities. Students only need to devote about 8 to 10 hours weekly to the program, and they also have the option to pause the program during exam season. Upon completion of the Scaler Edge program, students receive a Scaler Edge Career Capstone certificate. The course also helps students work on functional projects that can be added to their resumes to highlight their capabilities to future employers.
Speaking on the new offering, Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-Founder, InterviewBit & Scaler Academy said that in light of industry data that highlights the lack of skills needed for high quality jobs among engineering graduates, we wanted to ensure that students have the best resources available to master industry-oriented skills and improve their employment opportunities. "With this at the forefront of our efforts, we devised Scaler Edge, which functions on a simple formula The Techie Edge = (effort * intelligence) ^ mentorship. We believe that learning directly from industry experts and getting mentored by those at the forefront of tech innovation in India is essential to creating future tech leaders. At Edge, mentorship amplifies learning. We strongly believe that this offering will provide future techies with a certain edge that will help them land relevant growth roles to further their careers and eventually become the job-creators of Atmanirbhar Bharat in software and technology,” he added.
Anshuman Singh, Co-Founder, InterviewBit & Scaler Academy said, “We have always believed in the importance of industry-ready learning and personal mentorship as these lay the foundations for sustainable success. Our offerings are built bearing in mind the need for a strong industry connect which most graduates might not have access to at their current level. We believe that COVID has presented us with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring the highest quality of industry-ready live learning from instructors with experience at top tech companies. We are eager to work with the new batch of Scaler Edge students and look forward to learning alongside them through this program.”