87% of the business leaders prefer reskilling over hiring new, as per upGrad – FICCI’s whitepaper on “High-Impact Online Learning at Scale”
Mumbai: upGrad, India’s leading online education company has released a whitepaper in partnership with FICCI (The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce) on the “High-Impact Online Learning at Scale”.
The research-backed White paper has brought to light that, reskilling existing employees is always more economical than hiring new ones. This is something respondents of upGrad’s 2020 industry-leading survey of Learning & Development (L&D) and business leaders are very aware of: 87% respondents opine that reskilling is preferred over hiring anew.
Post COVID19 outbreak, the numbers show that the budgets for online learning for many of the respondents have increased to more than 80% of the total L&D budgets, as per data collected during COVID-19* However, online learning comes with a set of challenges that include low completion rates and indifferent learner engagement.
Online learning at scale can also help organisations navigate Black Swan events such as the current unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, ensuring learning continuity.
The White paper also highlights the sharp and articulated perspective of industry stalwarts like Ms. Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Asst Secretary General, FICCI, who believes that users of online education in India are expected to reach 9.5 million by 2021 from 1.9 million in 2017-18. She also adds, “With a rapid increase of mobile internet users in India, which is expected to reach 85% households by 2024, this can change the education system and enhance the effectiveness of learning & teaching practices.”
The rapid adoption of new and emerging technologies is imperative for business success today. Across verticals, enterprises face barriers to this adoption due to a skills gap in their workforces. Such barriers can be crippling, hampering business growth in present-day hyper-dynamic marketplaces.
“We aim to partner with businesses and governments worldwide to transform their talent in the face of accelerating change,” add Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder & Executive Chairman, upGrad.
The White paper was launched during a webinar held today, and brought senior leadership from AICTE, CBSE, FICCI, and Welspun under one virtual window. Speakers and panelists include Ms Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI, Mr Atul Kulshrestha, Chair, FICCI EdTech Task Force & Founder, Chairman & MD, Extramarks, Ms Poonam Jamwal, Director, Extramarks, Mr Gerald Jaideep, Co-Chair, FICCI EdTech Task Force & CEO, Medvarsity, Ms Shweta Rajpal Kohli, Co-Chair, FICCI EdTech Task Force & Country Director – Gov. Affairs and Public Policy, Salesforce, Ms Nandita Abraham, President, Pearl Academy, Mr Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder & Chairman, upGrad, Mr Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, upGrad, Dr. Biswajit Saha, Director -Training & Skill Education, CBSE, and Dr Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE. The moderation for the webinar done by Mr Nilanjan Kar, President-Enterprise Business, upGrad.