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IT Skill Education and Job-Readiness for Millennial India

Nimmi Rangaswamy

Kohli Centre on Intelligent Systems IIIT Hyderabad

❖ Ethnographic Learnings from Ameerpet [ Hyderabad] arguably the biggest informal IT skill tutoring hub in India➢ A 1000+ institutes touching a 100,000 + learners from India and abroad➢ Rooted in the classroom experience + Promise of job-ready skill tutoring➢ Course offerings keep pace with Industry skill demand

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My Precious Research Associates

Meghna Joshi & Tanmay Joshi

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IMG_20170705_111639.jpgIMG_20170705_111639.jpgIMG_20170705_111639.jpg

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Skilling India…

• Gaps in educational models allow Ameerpet like hubs to flourish

• India’s hierarchical model of technical education

• Students seem to prefer the hub to online learning

• Lessons to be learnt from a situated model of learning

• Can these learnings translate to a successful on-line learning model?

• Is the Ameerpet model deeply customized to a local model of tutoring?

• Is this model specific to India?

• low-resource; emphasis on engineering education; cultural importance to situated learning; Hyderabad as obvious choice; drawbacks to MOOCs like portals…

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➢Thoughts…

➢ Can the Ameerpet model of Dynamic Skill Tutoring be replicated in a more formal educational eco-system?

➢ Is the success of Ameerpet a product of the market or course content?

➢ A Bottom-up Model of IT Skill Tutoring – does it point at re-oriention towards deep skilling (not just teaching tools)

Framing the Study• Getting lost in Industry reports of IT job

profiles!• Moved to a survey of HCI/ACM literature

on learning models• The idea of India’s resistance to online

resources

• Look for Pedogogy related sources

• Deeper look at MOOC and HCID literature

• A contextual response from India with a universal appeal?

• Global Reports – Generic!• Need India Specific studies,

that focus on micro-aspects

• What is Unique to India? • Service based market• Low skill and low wage labor up-

skilling

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“Scaling Classroom IT Skill Tutoring: A Case Study from India”

Full Paper to appear ACM SIGCHI 2018, Montreal

❖ Looking at situated learning models for pedagogic design strategies to scale MOOCs for the Indian youth

❖TEDx Mumbai

Research Informants

• Secondary Data- Journals, News, Op-Eds, Industry reports

• Ethnography- Ameerpet Upskilling Industry • Observing Sociol geography of Ameerpet• Interviews with Institute management;

Tutors; Students• Participant Observation: Enrolling a Course

called ‘Testing Tools’ • Quality Testing the largest Outsourced

job segment• Empirical Exercises- Course Spectrum; Price

Differentiation

Primary data Survey of 144 institutes

Deeper analysis of 110 institutes.

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Ameerpet : An OverviewBiggest skilling hub for IT and affiliated

skills

❖ Most popular courses: SAP [ 64 Modules of SAP] MS-Office & Core Java

❖ Fee Range: 500 (DB Testing) –35,000 (Java)

❖ 5 – 300 Students per class - enhanced focus on them

❖ Durational Range: 2 Days(DB Testing) – 6 Months

❖ Oldest Institute: PACC ( est. 1980)

❖ Placement Fairs: By 5-10% of Institutes

❖ Main highlights of posters ❖ Course name❖ Star instructor ❖ Job placement guarantee

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Edu-Ecosystem

❖ Quality Judgements

❖ Differentiating courses

❖ Demo Classes

❖ Everyone is ‘networked’

❖ Large institutes are like brands

Student Aspirants Ameerpet as a magic bullet

❑ Student Profiles❑ Fresh graduates from (multiple streams)❑ Currently unemployed with experience❑ Working professionals

❑ Information networks❑ Family (often elder sibling)/friends who are employed ❑ Focused on present demand- no futuristic thinking!❑ Ads on job portals

❑ Priorities❑ Job in IT industry❑ Growth❑ Salary

❑ Demand for multi-skilling in the IT industry

❑ Tools-focussed & industry-oriented training

❑ No encouragement for creative learning & innovations

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Ameerpet Entrepernuers but the Tutor is King!

❖ The management have no industry roots! Build information and business models from:❖ Tutors❖ Students who come with specific demands❖ Highest-demanded skills on job portals❖ Informal HR contacts

❖ Guided by profit principle❖ Very flexible – quicker to react than traditional

educational models❖ Change courses as the demand shifts- Dig up

new instructor - revise fee/syllabus

Ameerpet Tutor-Kings

• Working professionals• Provide industry connect• Map students needs with courses• Counsel placement options to students• Special Assistance to weak students

• Powerful stakeholders• Star attraction for students• High salaries / direct profit cut

• Output Aware- poor conscience!• Students aren’t job-ready !• Lack of technical skills• Lack of soft skills

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Research Payoffs...

• Non-Formal skilling centers, like Ameerpet, bridge education gaps• The Ameerpet Industry rests on informal channels of information

• Rely on present demand - Don’t predict future trends/demands• Constrainted by business instincts rather than a vision for education• Currrently facing trade offs to induct cuting edge courses or persisit

with dated skill tutoring➢Does the Ameerpet Model point to a partial future for the Education

sector in India ? ➢ Lessons to learn from this dynamic skilling market➢ Can we re-orient towards deep skilling (as opposed to just teaching

tools)