Reimagining the Skilling Paradigm…

We are launching the company in difficult times; conditions are adverse and the environment is grim looking at the social and economic fallout. But didn’t somebody say, adversity brings out the best in people! I remember one of the biggest names in the advertising world – Leo Burnett was launched in 1935, right in the middle of the worst economic depression till date, defying conventional wisdom, in terms of both location and commercial prudence. But, they did go on to survive economic depressions and wars, and stand out as one of the most respectable names in the Ad World.

Access to quality skill training is a major challenge today, as the country struggles to get the right set of skilled manpower for its industries. We are committed to creating a country wide access to quality skill education and training, to bring about a paradigm shift in the skilling landscape in the country. To make this work, at BroadArks, we will deploy a scalable technology enabled learning platform powered by content that is in line with the scalability requirements and adaptive to changing industry needs.

The COVID 19 pandemic will have a long term impact on the social and cultural mores of society. Seemingly overnight, students have had to adjust their definition of “classroom”. Both educators and students, have adapted almost on the fly, to remote classrooms, causing prodigious shifts in decades-old models of both instruction and learning. But on the flipside, many inequalities exposed by the pandemic that were in existence prior, are only deepening. The fundamental questions about how we teach and learn no longer have the luxury of being considered slowly. The urgency to bring about paradigm shifts and create a new normal in education and training is upon us. We are likely to see changes in the way people conduct themselves and the way we conduct business are all set for change. The overall cultural practices are also likely to undergo a rapid change. I believe some of the most striking consequences of this pandemic have been the game-changing impact on our social behaviour and patterns of economic activity. The wearing of masks, doing away with handshakes and resorting to a ‘namaste’, working from home, shopping online, the rediscovery of the neighbourhood kirana stores, OTT vs a theatre, and the huge shift towards online solutions for our needs and wants and also for statutory compliances are all reflective of the changing times.

In the wake of these transformations, scalable, adaptable and digital based courses with compulsory soft skill modules, adapted to current sensitivity and sensibilities is the need of the hour. All courses at BroadArks, will have a mandatory Soft Skill course. As we say at BroadArks – ‘the New Age Soft skill courses and not necessarily just the new age technology courses’. In short, we expect to prepare youth with the right skills and with the requisite soft skills.

BroadArks is working at the grassroots level to mine insights and feedback. Because at the core of it all, we need to understand how the improved learning outcomes influence economic activity, wellbeing and the many capabilities essential for productivity of the workforce. We expect to contribute significantly to both policy making and advocacy on the subject for a more robust and future ready skilling framework, contributing to a self-reliant country.

Jai Hind!