How Skilling Startup Masai School Is Helping Companies Find Industry-Ready Tech Talent

The pandemic changed however enterprises were run, and businesses were done. To antagonistic its crippling impact, astir companies took a leap of tech to musculus their remote/hybrid operations, which deepened their reliance connected cutting-edge technologies. But this besides resulted successful a monolithic displacement successful the occupation marketplace arsenic startups and the firm assemblage went resource-hunting for job-ready tech talent.    

Although moving cognition of modern tech mandates a steep learning curve, it should not person troubled tech-driven companies. 

With 3,500 engineering colleges, 3,400 polytechnics and 200 schools of readying and architecture, India boasts 1 of the largest ecosystems built astir tech education. Numberwise, the state produces much than 15 Lakh engineering graduates each year. But lone 2.5 Lakh of them onshore applicable jobs successful the method domain, according to manufacture estimates.    

This could besides explicate wherefore 60% of Indian companies person identified accomplishment gaps arsenic their biggest situation successful 2022. 

Founded successful 2019, Masai School is connected a ngo to assistance young Indians find lucrative occupation opportunities successful the IT assemblage by honing their tech skills and connecting them with bequest tech companies and startups. 

The level offers long- and short-term courses successful full-stack web improvement and information analytics.

It says that 96% of its students get placed wrong 4 months of graduating from Masai. It further added that the occupation acceptance complaint is 90%, and the retention complaint astatine companies is 94% for astatine slightest 1 year. 

To date, Masai School has tied up with much than 2,000 companies to assistance them find industry-ready tech talent. Among its B2B partners seeking candidates for assorted tech roles are large IT companies similar IBM, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Capgemini, and startup unicorns crossed sectors specified arsenic Paytm, Swiggy, Dream11, Ola, ShareChat, and CoinSwitch Kuber. 

The skilling startup claims that successful the past 12 months, it has witnessed a 10x maturation in the fig of B2B hiring partners. It is present targeting INR 120 Cr successful gross successful FY23, much than a 6x leap from INR 19 Cr successful FY22.   

A Skilling Institute Built On Ancient Tribal Wisdom

An IIT-Kanpur alumnus, Shukla knew his mode astir gathering a concern agelong earlier Masai School came into the picture. In 2013, helium launched a home-rental marketplace Grabhouse, which was acquired by Quikr three years later. Post-acquisition, Shukla spent a twelvemonth arsenic the concern caput astatine Quikr and past went connected a travel to East Africa.

It was a life-altering experience. He was inspired by the Maasai people residing successful the portion and their dynamic skills successful gathering real-world applications.

“The Maasai people does not judge successful ceremonial education. Instead, radical walk their full lives honing skills arsenic cultivators, builders and technicians. It is this robust mode of learning [the basics] that has kept the people and their traditions live for generations,” said Shukla.  

Shukla, on with Yogesh Bhat, a erstwhile concern caput astatine Tata Motors and NrupulDev, erstwhile tech caput astatine AI startup Digital Aristotle decided to acceptable up Masai schoolhouse to bid young radical on those past but astute principles. 

In essence, it is simply a level for coding enthusiasts, particularly those from Tier 2 and 3 regions, helping them go industry-ready bundle developers, information analysts and information scientists. 

Its in-house experts and mentors are tech professionals from the IT manufacture who are well-versed successful the existent and upcoming exertion landscape. The startup has 246 full-time instructors successful place. Most noted among them are Ritesh Firodiya, erstwhile elder bundle technologist of Swiggy; Arjun Thakur, erstwhile improvement technologist of Amazon; and the cofounders, Dev and Bhat. 

Masai seeks regular feedback from its placement partners to guarantee that the courses are up to day with occupation marketplace developments. “We make modules and instrumentality changes for each cohort to cater to the changing tech requirements,” said Shukla.

The outcome: Tech engineers successful the making nary longer beryllium connected outdated programmes oregon accepted degrees to onshore a bully job.    

How Masai School Leaps Past Hurdles To Bring Tech Talent To Companies  

For Masai, the biggest situation lies successful convincing companies that students without full-time engineering degrees tin undertake coding and analytical jobs. 

“We are moving connected a mindset change, and that is our biggest challenge. Most companies cognize the pitfalls of hiring underprepared graduates but are unwilling to determination distant from grade requirements,” rued Shukla.

However, helium revealed that the startup ecosystem was initially much open-minded and took a leap of religion with Masai graduates. This paved the way for a wider reach. 

“We had large occurrence with startups and our students often outperform those with fancy engineering degrees. Their occurrence has really helped america determination the needle. Today, galore bequest companies person updated their hiring requirements truthful they tin prosecute skilled entry-level endowment from us,” helium added.

For instance, a tech startup (Shukla did not disclose the name) utilized to prosecute engineering grads from Tier 1 cities arsenic entry-level web developers. It partnered with Masai successful 2021. “After moving with a fistful of our students, the institution contacted america again to assistance it make an exclusive endowment excavation for hiring,” the Masai CEO said. 

Companies specified arsenic Capgemini, IBM, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra person besides hired from Masai successful the past. 

“One of the MNCs hesitantly agreed to prosecute a fewer Masai students with degrees successful machine science. After seeing however good they performed, the institution present regularly hires from Masai, irrespective of a student’s assemblage degree,” said Shukla. 

Commenting connected Masai’s tech talent, Ankush Sachdeva, cofounder and CEO of ShareChat said, “I would not spot my bets connected the existing acquisition infrastructure to bid people. I deliberation we request a level similar Masai that truly takes the accountability of uplifting students and giving them applicable cognition successful the tech domain. This is truly needed to unlock India’s tech potential.”

“In the past two-three years, hiring has go precise difficult. The champion happening astir Masai is that determination is nary recruitment fee, dissimilar the consulting firms wherever we person to wage a hefty amount. Masai students are hard-working, disciplined and focussed. We prosecute engineers trained nether Masai to negociate our frontend and backend,” said Deekshant Jain, manager of engineering astatine NoBroker

Connecting Businesses with Skilled Techies successful Three Simple steps 

The startup’s concern business squad gets successful interaction with the prospects (corporate houses and placement partners) astir of the time. However, businesses tin straight interaction the skilling and placement level for their hiring requirements. “Strong connection of rima from satisfied concern partners works precise good successful our favour. It is the impervious of conception for imaginable partners,” said Shukla. 

When a institution comes connected board, Masai manually matches its requirements with 5 oregon six perfect pupil profiles.

Next, the institution holds an in-house interview, and the selected campaigner gets an connection letter. Finally, Masai’s placement squad works with the campaigner to assistance him/her implicit the joining formalities. The platform’s B2B partners tin implicit the full process successful two-three days.

In 2021, 46% of Masai School students were hired by repetition clients, according to the startup. More than 200 companies hired Masai students crossed 10+ cohorts between March 2022 and September 2022. 

Besides accomplishment assurance and speedy hiring, Masai’s services are cost-effective, too, arsenic it does not complaint its concern partners immoderate recruitment fee. Its gross comes from the fees users person to wage for courses and placement services. 

However, Masai is not the lone subordinate capitalising connected outcome-focussed learning models by helping students onshore top-tier tech jobs and offering businesses a immense endowment pool. A fistful of startups similar Newton School, BridgeLabz, Placewit and the similar are besides operating here. 

Doubling down connected its outcome-oriented acquisition approach, Masai offers study-now-pay-later model, offset by an income stock statement (ISA). When students motion ISAs with the platform, they tin prosecute the courses astatine zero cost. Once they are placed and get paycheques of INR 5 Lakh oregon supra per annum, the startup begins to complaint a fixed percent of the monthly income until the costs are paid disconnected (no involvement is charged, though).

This besides helps physique trust, arsenic students are assured of a affirmative result successful a difficult-to-crack occupation market. 

Masai has partnered with 2 NBFCs, Propelld and Eduvanz, to facilitate the ISA contract. 

“We guarantee a dependable gross watercourse by making bully usage of our grooming modules. They assistance our students go job-ready, and they wage america later. As 1 of the pure-play ISA-model vocation institutes, our ideology stems from the conception that acquisition ought to person a tangible extremity result,” said Shukla. 

The Road Ahead For Masai School

Although industries were deed hard by the pandemic, and a planetary slowdown is looming ample successful the aftermath, India’s IT manufacture continues to present and grow. 

According to IBEF, its gross crossed $227 Bn successful FY22, a 15.5% YoY emergence from the erstwhile year. The assemblage besides hired 4.45 Lakh radical successful the past fiscal year, taking the full headcount to 50 Lakh.

But determination was different broadside of the coin. 

Despite a terrible occupation crunch, the attrition complaint skyrocketed to 21% successful 2021, from 12.8% successful 2020, a survey by Aon said.

In brief, a endowment warfare raged broadside by side, and galore IT companies struggled to find resources with applicable accomplishment sets. 

Outcome-focussed skilling platforms similar Masai School privation to span this spread by connecting startups and deep-pocketed bequest players with a increasing excavation of new-age techies who are skillworthy, flexible and speedy joiners. 

Talking astir the roadworthy ahead, Shukla said helium was assured that much and much startups and MNCs would recognise the request to interruption cognition silos and springiness these newcomers a just accidental alternatively of targeting premium institutions alone. 

Hence, Masai School is readying to standard its merchandise stack by adding respective courses similar an outcome-based upskilling programme for moving engineers and dedicated courses for engineering students successful their first, second, 3rd and last twelvemonth of graduation – to conscionable industry-specific requirements. 

“Many hiring partners person requested america to motorboat circumstantial exertion courses. We are creating a dynamic program to conscionable those demands,” said Shukla.

According to Inc42’s The State of Indian Startup Ecosystem Report, edtech’s accomplishment improvement assemblage is estimated to scope $730 Mn by FY25, increasing astatine a CAGR of 24%. The affirmative manufacture projections travel astatine a clip erstwhile the edtech assemblage is facing a downturn arsenic offline institutes instrumentality to concern successful afloat swing. 

Experts judge that the roadworthy to profitability lies successful gathering sustainable concern models and adjusting to changing user preferences and trends. 

Hence, creating future-proof solutions and immersive learning experiences successful sync with idiosyncratic request is captious for edtech platforms similar Masai to not lone past the existent upheavals but besides standard successful the agelong run. 

The station How Skilling Startup Masai School Is Helping Companies Find Industry-Ready Tech Talent appeared archetypal connected Inc42 Media.