The roads were empty. The offices were padlocked. The parks were desolate and the sky was blue. As a restless race cooled its heels indoors, several screens flashed to life, providing a window to the world that was. As humankind hunkered down to deal with the pandemic, using technology as their tool to keep the world running, the screen became the lifeline to the rest of the world.

From meetings online to shopping, from attending schools online to remotely accessing office networks for important projects and, of course, for matters of entertainment, the screen became your constant companion. An added benefit was the abundance of time many office-goers had—thanks to the absence of commutes. As productivity increased, so did the need for skills in new-fangled fields such as digital marketing and data science. And the screen was the solution again. A portion of the workforce took to online courses with gusto, learning important skill sets to advance their careers. And these courses were offered not just by traditional institutes, but also by a bunch of up-and-coming edtech players.

Regulations have made it easier to offer online courses, given the massive push for digital

ASHWIN DAMERA
Co-founder and CEO
Emeritus and Eruditus

For Divyashree Arumugam (name changed), a software engineer, this was a time for reflection. Having made the difficult decision to step away from her career to start a family, she saw her cousins—also software engineers—successfully transitioning into full-stack developers through online courses, landing lucrative and secure jobs. This ignited something within: an undeniable yearning to return to her work life. This spurred Arumugam to enrol herself in an executive programme for full-stack software development offered by a leading edtech firm. “The initial thought behind enrolling myself was to be in a field where work from home is easy and job opportunities are ample,” she tells Business Today. That worked out well. “Today, I live a well-balanced life where I manage home and kids along with a job,” she says.

Like Arumugam, the aspirations of India’s young workforce—higher salary, better prospects and promotions, and more—are fuelling the growth of the online executive education industry, which saw a boom thanks to the pandemic. What has also helped is the flexibility that online education offers. Now, the blended form of learning online and offline has led to executive courses becoming even more popular.

According to a study by market analysis platform Future Market Insights, the global executive education market is expected to reach $109.6 billion by 2031 from $37.8 billion in 2021, growing at a CAGR of 11.2 per cent in the forecast period. Experts believe that as the fear of job displacement by technology intensifies and the need to stay current with emerging trends grows, the online executive education segment will inevitably experience a boost. Consequently, the industry and recruiters are taking note of the talent emerging from these platforms.

The Players

Until a few years ago, executive courses were offered by legacy universities such as the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, and the Great Lakes Institute of Management. The pandemic led to more courses emerging in the online space. Subsequently, edtech players entered the field, with the prominent names being upGrad, Emeritus, Great Learning, Hero Vired, and Scaler. They tied up with prominent, legacy universities that are valued in the job market. For instance, Emeritus has partnered with INSEAD and IIM Calcutta, among others, while upGrad has tied up with Deakin Business School, Golden Gate University and IIM Kozhikode, etc.

The courses on offer are varied—from management-related ones (especially executive MBAs) to data science, full-stack software developer, digital marketing, artificial intelligence (generative AI) and machine learning, business analytics (project management and leadership programmes), and more. Typically, the duration of the diploma and certificate courses these platforms offer ranges from a few weeks to three years. While anyone who is a graduate can enrol in these courses, most people who go in for these are usually already a part of the workforce.

Within an edtech space, a CA, lawyer, and homemaker study under one roof

AKSHAY MUNJAL
Founder and CEO
Hero Vired

Mayank Kumar, Co-founder and MD of upGrad, says millennials are embracing these courses to distinguish themselves from the masses. “For instance, someone who has done engineering will not stand out in a crowd versus someone who has done engineering plus a data analytics course,” he says, adding that millennials prefer to enrol in an online course offered by a reputed university over a regular one at a Tier II or III college.

Do note that while the global MBA programmes are accredited by the World Education Services, a credential evaluation services company, they may not be recognised by accreditation agencies in India. The partnerships with the IIMs, meanwhile, are for postgraduate programmes and are not full-time MBAs.

Still, the workforce has been opting for such courses. Experts say in developing economies such as India and Brazil, there is an eagerness among a significant part of the workforce to invest in upskilling. This stems from the realisation that there can be a substantial return on investment (ROI) through upskilling. Akshay Munjal, Founder and CEO of Hero Vired, says a chunk of the Indian population is in its early 20s. “After doing a job or two they realise they want to upskill [themselves],” he says, adding that the upskilling industry has leveraged the gaps in the traditional universities.

In India, courses on data science, digital marketing and management have the highest demand followed by technology (artificial intelligence, cloud, robotics, cybersecurity), say industry watchers. “Most of the demand is for tech upskilling courses,” says Mohan Lakhamraju, Founder and CEO of Great Learning, which was acquired by BYJU’S in 2021. While management programmes make up a staggering 85 per cent of the online executive courses on offer, the number of tech-oriented courses is steadily rising because of massive demand. Lakhamraju says the demand for these courses is a reflection of India’s workforce. “There’s a lot more people at lower levels than at higher levels. So, in India [in the near future], two-thirds [of courses] will be tech-oriented, and one-third business-oriented.”

The boom in the space is reflected in the funding these edtech platforms have received. Per data from market intelligence platform Tracxn, the Eruditus Group (which includes its online business Emeritus), has raised $1.2 billion from marquee investors such as CPP Investments, SoftBank, Accel, Peak XV Ventures (formerly known as Sequoia Capital) and more. And upGrad has raised $431 million from Temasek, IIFL Finance, Kaizen Management Advisers, and others till date. (See chart ‘Eager Investors’)

Indian edtech players believe the Indian online executive education industry is set to become bigger. But how do the recruiters view it?

The average increment they [learners] get after the completion of a programme is 50-55 per cent

MAYANK KUMAR
Co-founder and MD
upGrad

The Recruiters

Ashwin Damera, Co-founder and CEO of Eruditus and Emeritus, says there has been a noticeable trend in hiring candidates with online degrees or certifications in two specific areas. The first, he explains, focusses on programmes such as digital marketing, project management, product management, cybersecurity, and data science/AI, among others, which are typically targeted at individuals with three to eight years of experience. The second is geared towards professionals with 10-15 years of experience who undergo a C-suite programme—that emphasises soft skills or leadership training for roles such as CFO, CTO and CMO.

upGrad’s Kumar says while there was a certain level of scepticism attached to online courses earlier, companies have become more accepting now. Kamlesh Vyas, Partner at Deloitte, says HR personnel working in the IT space respect these online courses. “The non-IT courses are considered extensions of hobbies and passions,” he says, adding that the IT industry is more accepting as it has always been at the forefront of any development or evolution. And therefore, students who have diplomas in technologies like cloud, AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and others have an edge, say experts. “IT as a sector has always valued executive education,” adds Damera. After the IT industry, it is in the consulting and the BSFI sectors where there are takers for these online courses.

“The world is moving towards what we call skill-based hiring, where they (companies) don’t care whether you’ve done an MBA or engineering. You just need to have the skills for the job,” says Sekhar Garisa, CEO of jobs portal Foundit (previously Monster APAC & ME). A recruiter at an Indian data analytics major, who wishes to remain anonymous, says skills are important wherever hiring is concerned. “If a fresher does a data science course from an edtech company and has a strong grasp, we hire him. However, we have also seen cases where a person hasn’t done any specialised course but has skills plus work experience,” says the recruiter, adding that the employee’s performance and successful execution of client projects help determine their pay package when they switch jobs.

Show me the Money

While the young workforce is eager to upskill, how much do these courses cost? Courses start Rs 20,000 to Rs 25 lakh for programmes that run from a week to three years. For instance, upGrad offers a range of courses that cost between Rs 20,000 and Rs 20 lakh. In the case of Hero Vired, which offers courses in data science, finance, technology, and more, the average pricing is Rs 3.7-4 lakh, excluding GST. As for Scaler, which also offers programmes in similar fields, the costs are in the range of Rs 3.5-5 lakh. Technology courses like Generative AI, Cloud and Data Science tend to be the most expensive due to the limited availability of offline learning opportunities for these subjects within traditional systems of education. “Their [traditional systems’] cost structures are set. And therefore, they find it difficult to scale up,” says Munjal of Hero Vired.

Online courses are also generally cheaper than offline ones, especially for management courses at reputed institutes. Sample this: At IIMs, the fees for two-year MBA programmes start at Rs 11 lakh and go up to Rs 32 lakh. While there are government-run institutes like the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) under the University of Delhi, where MBA courses cost between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh over two years, getting an admission into such colleges is difficult. “Only 1-2 per cent of students are able to make it to these colleges,” says Munjal of Hero Vired. upGrad Chairperson and Co-founder Ronnie Screwvala, in a recent podcast episode on the edtech industry, summed this up succinctly: “We are providing inclusivity, whereas the traditional colleges provide exclusivity.”

In India, two-thirds [of courses] will be tech-oriented, and one-third will be business oriented

MOHAN LAKHAMRAJU
Founder and CEO
Great Learning

The big question on everyone’s minds, though, is: what is the ROI for those who enrol in such courses? Let us go back to Arumugam. On completing her full-stack software development course, she was offered a hybrid job with a 2.5x hike over her last salary. Then there’s Rohan Pahwa (name changed), who took a loan for his course, which cost Rs 3.5 lakh. And it took him four months to find a job. Therefore, the ROI may be different for each case.

Kumar backs the ROI debate with some numbers. On average, learners at upGrad for such programmes join when they have an average annual salary of Rs 8 lakh; the average increment they get after the completion of the programme is 50-55 per cent. In the case of Hero Vired, its website claims that the average salary hike for students who completed its online courses is 71.6 per cent. Edtechs argue that sometimes an ROI may not be immediate but may come in the form of a promotion six months down the line or the next job change.

Industry players also suggest ways in which people can ensure that their online course gives them a decent ROI. Kumar suggests that one must do basic research on what they will learn from the course, and how much hand-holding or support they will get from the edtech platform. Lakhamraju cites three metrics that Great Lakes uses to measure the effectiveness of its online executive programmes—student satisfaction, completion rate, and career outcomes. “Student satisfaction is measured throughout the course, after every class, interaction, and when the programme ends. When it comes to completion rate, it is important because if people don’t complete a course, then they don’t find it useful or the quality [of the course] is not good. Career outcomes are measured at different points after completion of the programme—six-, 12-, 18 months and beyond,” he says.

Munjal says students have to ensure that they are serious about attending live classes and appearing for the required tests. Vyas of Deloitte echoes Munjal, saying a student’s seriousness is an equally defining factor when choosing this route. Taking help from career counsellors and supervisors can also help, they add.

Measuring up

While an online executive course offers benefits such as ease and flexibility to students, are they better than offline ones? Arumugam says while the course turned out to be advantageous for her career, she encountered a few stumbling blocks. “In my batch, there were people from different backgrounds and walks of life... Some people knew the fundamentals and wanted the teacher to move ahead quickly, but some were completely new and demanded the teacher explain a few concepts in-depth first.” Her point was echoed by some other students of online executive programmes BT spoke with. Industry players believe that diversity is a blessing in disguise. “Within an edtech space, a CA, lawyer, and homemaker study under one roof. It is the biggest drawback and the biggest advantage as well,” says Munjal.

The world is moving towards skillbased hiring... You just need to have the skills for the job

SEKHAR GARISA
Chief Executive Officer,
Foundit (previously Monster apac & me)

Then there’s the lack of personal touch and other irritants like multiple rescheduling of weekend classes and, sometimes, even their cancellation. Plus, unlike regular offline institutes, some providers of online courses don’t offer placement support. “The company I did the course from played very little role in getting me placed. I had to find a job myself,” says Pahwa. Vyas emphasises that placement is a decisive factor where offline channels have an edge over online channels. “Offline universities or players have some linkage to the job market. This is what online companies lack.”

Industry watchers say offline executive programmes are a popular choice in India, and it would continue to stay that way.  At the same time, online courses will also thrive. “Regulations have made it easier for institutions to offer online courses given the government’s massive push on digital and its recommendations as part of the National Education Policy,” says Damera.

upGrad’s Kumar gives a sense of the direction upskilling edtech companies are likely to take. “We focus on fostering personal relationships through therapy and other means,” he says, adding that students also need mentoring. At the macro level, he highlights why upskilling is important. “India has to provide talent for fuelling the global economy,” he says.

For those looking to do an online management course and those offering one—these are interesting times indeed.