SkillUp Online – Edtech startup aiming to revolutionize the tech skilling industry in India

CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Mr. JPS Kohli – Founder & CEO of SkillUp Group.

• What objectives and aims did the company have since it was founded? Tell us briefly about your journey since the company’s inception.

I started SkillUp in 2016. My 25 years’ experience in cloud-based learning systems and blended learning strategies, which included being Director of Online Training at Microsoft, highlighted to me there was a problem. The pendulum had swung from face-to-face learning in classrooms (which is limited in numbers) to scaling up through online self-paced learning (which offers learning to anyone, anytime, anywhere). However, completion rates for online courses were very low and deep learning at scale was not being achieved.

For me, the human touch was the missing ingredient. I therefore created SkillUp in 2016 to solve this problem. The business’s learner-centric training methodology balances a technology-driven ethos with a human centered approach. To ensure learners remain relevant in this rapidly changing world, we focus on future skills training in fields such as artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, cloud computing, and cybersecurity etc. Plus, we offer human skills training that enables professionals to develop the leadership, team building, time management, collaboration, and problem-solving skills that businesses desperately need.

In 2019, we then furthered the SkillUp vision by launching our dedicated training platform – SkillUp Online (https://skillup.online). SkillUp Online is a hybrid learning platform that focuses on learning outcomes (skills, practical experience, and certifications) and learner outcomes (where improved skills and experience facilitate access to better career opportunities, higher salaries, and futureproof jobs).

Through SkillUp Online, SkillUp’s learner-centric approach has proven its worth. Human mentors are available to nudge and support learners when they need it. And with 67%+ completion rates – an enviable statistic in comparison to MOOC completion rates of 3%-5% – the business truly is enabling deep learning at scale.

SkillUp now operates in the US, Europe (based in Portugal), and India. The company has partnered with top organizations, including Microsoft, IBM, and Google Cloud for technical learning content, and NASSCOM and Pacific Lutheran University (USA) for extended reach.

• What are some big challenges you faced while putting up a team together for your business? What keeps you motivated?

To be honest, at the beginning we did not face the challenge that many startups face in finding talent. I’ve spent 25 years in the learning industry and have a large network, and initially the right people showed up at the right time. However, when we wanted to scale, we had to become intentional in our recruitment. It was important that we found talent that gelled with our culture and philosophy, as well as embraced our ethos of flexibility, ownership, and accountability.

Of course, while setting up the hiring process, we all drew on our previous corporate experiences. However, our challenge was to unlearn some of the traditional practices such experiences had instilled in us. Rather than pursuing a recruitment policy of aligning a person to a role – and rejecting strong talent that simply didn’t line up exactly – we have chosen to align a role to the right kind of person. We look at what skills they bring to the table, both technical and soft skills, and shape a position that maximizes the impact they will have in the business.

Having this approach has emphasized the importance of a key aspect of our training agenda – human skills training. Businesses don’t want just robots who can do a job efficiently, they need team players who can lead, problem solve, and practice critical thinking.

And this ties in closely with what actually keeps me motivated. I believe that human potential is unlimited. As technology continues to disrupt our lives, we all need to adjust and learn. At SkillUp, we want to be a part of people’s ability to grow and have impact. Certain jobs may soon become irrelevant, but professionals can still skill up and switch careers. Our quest is to impart the skills and knowledge they need in the fastest way, and at scale. And what gets me out of bed every day is focusing on the role SkillUp can play in helping each person to tap into their potential to make the necessary adjustments and thrive.

• Tell us about SkillUp Online, its business model and operations.

The business is based on three pillars: platform, content, and training delivery framework.  Our world-class upskilling platform – www.skillup.online – has been developed specifically to boost learner employability and drive deeper skilling at scale.

To achieve this, we have partnered with top organizations, including Microsoft, IBM, and Google Cloud for technical content, and NASSCOM and Pacific Lutheran University in the USA for extended reach. We have also created our own extensive suite of human skills courses to complement our technical portfolio. Plus, we’ve created a unique collection of cutting-edge programs that enable learners with minimal tech experience to get job-ready and hit the ground running. For example, our popular TechMaster Certificate Programs covering data science, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing.

The courses we run, therefore, offer best-in-class learning content that builds the up-to-date skills businesses need. And our training delivery framework brings a critical human touch through 1-to-1 mentoring from experts, outstanding online instructors, and dedicated placement support once learners have completed their learning.

We also work closely with larger organizations to provide a bespoke ‘hire-train-deploy’ model. For these projects we source, short list, upskill, and then deploy large cohorts of talented professionals to support a business’s expansion plans.

• What are the unique key points (USP) of your company?

For SkillUp, “learning outcomes” and “learner outcomes” are critical to the success of today’s professional learners. The learning outcomes from a course are the competencies, skills, and practical experience employers need. However, individuals seek to gain these learning outcomes because they empower them to improve their financial prospects through getting a good entry-level job, earning a promotion, or switching to a higher-paid position.

SkillUp Online calls these financial opportunities “learner outcomes” and believes them to be the driving force that motivates an individual to gain better learning outcomes. Therefore, the platform focuses on both these metrics in order to support learners and build the workforce of the future.

This means we are not simply intent on offering the best content at a low price. Instead, we concentrate on providing the content, hands-on practice, and support that will help a learner to skill up effectively and enjoy career enhancement.

To achieve this, we have put several features in place to ensure our learners fly. For example, we provide 1-to-1 mentoring with subject experts who are there to provide support, spot when learners need a nudge (using data analytics), answer questions, and personalize their learning.

We also utilize a flipped learning methodology that blends the best that instructor-led training and self-paced learning have to offer. This includes substantial hands-on learning, practical projects, soft skills coaching, and real-world capstone projects. And the outcome is learners develop the job-ready tech and human skills that are aligned to the specific roles employers are desperately seeking to fill. Which, in turn, gets learners better jobs, faster, than if they’d trained elsewhere.

The results speak for themselves. With 67%+ completion rates – in comparison to MOOC completion rates of 3%-5% – the business is not only enabling deep learning at scale but also helping learners to build successful careers quickly. 

• How do you differentiate from the competing firms? 

SkillUp is obsessed with the learner. We focus on driving learner success through deep skilling that actually builds a career and doesn’t just give a credential. And it is through this ethos that the business is achieving deep learning at scale and ensuring learners are armed with employable skills and practical experience that gets them jobs.

SkillUp’s obsession with the real success of the learner sets the business apart from the many training providers who have implemented course library/subscription models and free/low value unsupported training.

We develop content with and for big brands such as IBM, Microsoft, and Google Cloud, and then provide training with world-class instructors and expert mentors. By focusing on learning outcomes and learner outcomes, we ensure our balanced offering of technical and human skills training builds the sought-after skills and practical experience employers need. This means our learners are cross-skilling, upskilling, and reskilling into better jobs with higher salaries more quickly than they would have if they’d trained elsewhere.

SkillUp doesn’t just want learners to enroll for courses… we want them to learn and then succeed in their career. If a learner wants to be a cloud solutions architect… SkillUp wants to be a key part of their journey to becoming a cloud solutions architect. This is not about just getting enrollments, the learner outcome matters.

• Since upskilling is expected to be popular over the upcoming years, what steps should institutions take to enhance skill development?

A lot is changing in the ed-tech arena at the moment. US colleges have seen enrollments drop over the last 3 years. And the industry is facing a disjointed market filled with technically adept Gen-Z learners who are aware of their own personal learning styles, preferences, and needs. The challenge for education is how to cater to these individual differences effectively.

At the same time, with the disruption that’s being initiated globally by artificial intelligence, workers and graduates are now asking themselves, “How can I remain or be relevant?”

Future skilling in artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, etc. is the answer. However, future skilling also includes enhancing these technical skills with strong human skills such as leadership, collaboration, remote working, team building, time management, problem solving etc. It is this combination of future skills that organizations need now and will need even more in the future.

At SkillUp, we believe the ed-tech sector will need to invest in learning formats that make the best use of technology, and invest in understanding “the learner” properly to ensure training is more effective.

We also believe that strategically applied AI and machine learning is key here. Training providers who enable deep skills-building in the shortest time will succeed. And we further believe this can only be achieved by putting the learner at the center, providing

them with the power of choice over what and how they learn, and giving mentored support when they need it.

To facilitate truly deep, customized, training at scale, SkillUp is therefore also investing in AI and machine learning. Our goal is to enable our SkillUp Online learning platform to create a customized experience for each learner based on data they’ve provided during their previous learning activities. Learners will still be learning the same content as others on a course, but their experience will be tailored to their learning needs.

• In the coming years, how do you see technology changing the educational landscape?

The proliferation of tech and apps in everyday life now means people are not only comfortable using tech but are expecting it to be on hand. We have become used to technology making recommendations based on our user profile; Netflix is an excellent example. And learners in the ed-tech sector are no different; they are now expecting this tailored experience in the learning arena too.

Currently, technology is providing access to learning at scale. People can enroll for a self-paced course anywhere and complete it in their own time.

In line with the ‘Netflix experience’, at SkillUp we believe that technology can also provide invaluable insights in learner behavior, learner preferences, and learner needs. Through the power of machine learning and the big data that is available through large cohorts of learners, we are planning to use technology to tailor custom learning plans for individuals and offer them choice in how they learn and how they are supported to learn.

Plus, by combining the power of technology with a mentored approach to learning, we believe we will achieve deep learning at scale. This will provide learners with the skills, practical experience, and certifications they need to get highly paid jobs and pursue rewarding careers. And they will achieve this more quickly than if simply left to pursue unsupported self-paced learning.