In the age of digitalisation, cybersecurity, data literacy and analytics, have come to be some of the most sought after skillsets. However, the nascent fields are fast-evolving, thus falling short on the required curriculum for training the young minds. To address this, several established conglomerates in the respective fields have taken it upon themselves to impart essential skills and training and these important disciplines.
With surveillance systems gradually becoming a part and parcel of modern educational institutions, ONVU Learning by Onvu Tech is taking this burgeoning infrastructure one step forward by integrating it with Video Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. This approach enables the respective educators to gain superior insights into their pedagogical techniques and address the challenges that they are not able to otherwise visualize. Similarly, it also helps them in better class management, thanks to 360-degree cameras which capture the complete view of the class throughout their lecture.
In an exclusive interview with stoodnt.com, Abhishek Kumar, Regional Director Onvu Tech shared some interesting insights on skill demand in today’s professional space.
A selected excerpt –
What was the idea behind launching these training programs?
The education industry has major challenges in terms of attracting the talent, retaining that talent and further skill enhancement of that talent. Notably the industry records a high attrition rate. A good teacher increases the level of the students manifold. While most Edtech solutions focus on bringing technology to the students, we focus on using our technology in skill development of the instructor. This shall help bridge any gap in pedagogy while also help create the right mix for development of teachers through self-reflection and our cutting edge aligned methodology.
Why it now critical for professionals to build skills?
Specialization in any field of work directly reflects the ability of a professional to do a particular task. The more advanced skill set a professional has, the more effective will that professional be for a certain field of work. For instance, a person who is well-versed with data analytics will be able to run a retail store more effectively as compared to a person who isn’t. The same holds true for each and every skill required within the job market.
What are the most sought-after skills in today’s job market?
Today, there is a burgeoning demand for data analysts and cybersecurity professionals. This requires relevant skills in various sub-segments including statistical programming, data analytics, malware analysis, and so on. The global Artificial Intelligence market is also emerging brilliantly and increasing the demand for pertinent skill sets.
What is the current scenario with respect to availability of skilled professionals in Indian job market?
Though the Indian government has driven several positive initiatives including Skill India and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, there is still a considerable shortage of skilled professionals within the country. According the recent Annual Employability Survey 2019, 80% Indian engineers are not fit for any job in the knowledge economy. This is when India produces about 1.5 million engineers every year. We believe that the global market, with the ever-increasing infusion of digital technologies in it, is ripe for India and its professional at the moment. However, this will require a timely workforce structuring using a highly calibrated approach.
How do you plan to bring in a change in the skill development space?
The skill development space has limitations of tools available for the teacher to discreetly observe class. There is no standardization of the CPD (Continuous Professional Development). Our lesson capture, observation, self-reflection approach added with few intelligent software features is a complete solution for skill development of the teaching community.
What do you think the government should do in promoting skill development?
The government is striking all the right chords at present with targeted initiatives such as PMKVY, Skill India, and SHREYAS alongside others. Since India holds the largest chunk of youth across the globe, the country must timely take decisive steps to ensure that its initiatives are being rightly executed on the ground. Here, video-analytics-driven solutions can be of considerable help. They can automate the auditing process and drive audits in real-time, thereby ensuring that all bottlenecks are suitably intercepted and addressed without any delay. It also paves the way for precise performance analysis of both the student as well as the trainer.