Bridging the Skilling Gap Anshuman Singh and Abhimanya Saxena, Co-Founder, InterviewBit & Scaler launched Scaler in 2019 with two upskilling courses - Scaler Academy (Software Development & Engineering Program) & Scaler DSML (Data Science and Machine Learning Program)
By Priya Kapoor
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Every year India sees 16 lakh engineering graduates entering the job market, and only 16% successfully secure employment. Notably, 80% of these job opportunities are for computer science graduates. However, it's surprising that merely 2% of these graduates obtain positions related to computer science that offer an annual salary exceeding INR 8 lakh.
Recognizing this significant skills gap, Anshuman Singh and Abhimanya Saxena, Co-Founder, InterviewBit & Scaler launched Scaler in 2019 with two upskilling courses - Scaler Academy (Software Development & Engineering Program) & Scaler DSML (Data Science and Machine Learning Program). "Our learners benefit from the guidance and instruction of more than 1,000 industry leading tech professionals and subject matter experts. These mentors come from renowned organisations such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and others," says Singh.
Talking about the impact, Singh tells that it has created impactful career results in a short timeframe. "With our learners typically experiencing a remarkable 4.5x ROI from our courses. Over the past three years, professionals who completed upskilling through our programs witnessed a staggering 127% increase in their salaries. Our learners have achieved a mean salary of INR 21.6 LPA and a median salary of INR 17.5 LPA," says Singh.
The start-up has also ventured into traditional higher education with our recently launched fully residential 4-year UG degree program in Computer Science in Bangalore called Scaler School of Technology.
On asking how is Scaler keeping up the rapidy changing landscape of the tech industry, Singh replies, "We are proactively embracing this dynamic environment by harnessing the power of AI to revolutionise education. Our DSML courses are designed to stay ahead of technology trends. To further enhance the learning experience, we have introduced an AI-powered teaching assistant powered by OpenAI's flagship product, GPT-4. This innovation has brought significant advantages to both our learners and educators."
The company maintains strong partnerships with over 900 international employer-partners, including industry giants such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Zomato, Airtel, Wells Fargo, PayPal, and others. This network ensures that the curriculum is aligned with the current needs of the tech industry.
Singh tells that the regulatory framework currently in place for the higher education sector is fairly focused on traditional educational institutions and universities. The laws around ed-tech or new age skilling or vocational platforms are quite nonexistent. "We are working with several government bodies, key bureaucrats and public affairs stakeholders to help the GOI understand the sector better and put in place more meaningful and targeted legislation. It is a slow process, but we are confident that over the next few years, these efforts will revolutionise the way India approaches higher education, especially in the tech domain."
The start-up is cash-flow positive, with a significant portion of its raised capital still in reserve. "Therefore, we do not plan to raise new rounds of funding anytime soon. This financial stability positions us well to execute our growth and expansion plans effectively. We are focused on sustaining strong revenue growth in the upcoming fiscal years until FY24 and FY25. This growth is not just about increasing revenue but also ensuring that we continue to deliver high-quality education and valuable skills to our students," shares Singh.
It aims to double down on efforts towards providing the best experience possible to its learner base, offering them solutions that will help them build sustainable careers in tech.
Tech Specs:
•Year of inception: 2019 & InterviewBit, the parent organisation, was founded in 2015.
•No. of employees: 1600+
•External funding received so far:
•Seed Funding- USD 1.5 million Peak XV Partners (Formerly Sequoia India)
•Series A - USD 20 Million (Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global and Global Founders Capital)
•Series B – USD 55 Million (Lightrock India, Peak XV Partners and Tiger Global
•Major clients: Over 900 companies, including homegrown legacy brands, start-ups, MNCs and other organisations across various sectors, work with Scaler for their tech recruitment needs.
