How Democratised Learning Can Meet The Demands Of A Changing Industry

The Metaverse is a hot topic right now, and the discussions surrounding it are expanding. While the concept has been around for a while, seeing internet and technology titans like Facebook, Microsoft, and NVIDIA share their visions to bring the internet and technology one step closer to the possibility of this fully immersive world is exciting. The Metaverse has opened up a whole new world of technological possibilities and the demand for highly skilled professionals. In fact, Facebook is hiring 10,000 skilled professionals in Europe to help build its metaverse vision. This demonstrates an innate need for education and the development of practical skill sets.

Today, technical skillsets, particularly in AI, Data Science, and Analytics, are in high demand. Even five years ago, these skills were not widely used or in high demand. We live in a golden age of learning, where learning something as exotic as data mining or coding can be accomplished in a matter of months. And it makes perfect sense to capitalise on this shift in learning and hiring dynamics by learning the most in-demand technical skills to land a job of choice, regardless of how different it is from one’s specialisation.

Companies are increasingly looking for professionals who are not only experts in one domain but also have a basic understanding of others. On the one hand, the active participation of the corporations and the government in the push for skilling and digitalisation has resulted in a surge in newer domains entering the market at a rapid pace. On the other hand, educational technologies are making the skills and training required for these domains more accessible. While there is a shortage of skilled professionals, this ensures a steady flow of diversely skilled professionals into the market. This helps to reduce reliance on a single person or team and increases flexibility. Job seekers should focus on continuous upskilling to stay relevant and boost their career prospects.

Democratization Of Domains

In our traditional education system, technology lessons have been relegated to primarily higher secondary education for decades. Some ed-tech companies attempted to change this approach by offering new-age courses such as coding, AI, animation, app development, game design, and machine learning, to all age groups. They have begun to transform education by making learning more student-centred and engaging. Individuals can take control of their education by using learning apps, video lessons, and peer-to-peer discussion forums. This allows them to improve their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

The essence of democratising any domain, with its availability of services to all individuals regardless of age, location, experience, and so on, has been strongly uplifted and promoted by ed-tech. This ease of access to opportunities has ensured a whole new level of diversity to education. Individuals have been able to upskill and adapt to the current market requirements as a result of this, regardless of industry.

The Increasing Demand For Data Science

With data being the “oil” of future generations, there is a need for miners in the field. Corporations have been actively seeking candidates who have understanding and skills in ABCD – Analytics, Big Data, Cloud Computing, and Data Science. The data-driven dynamic is the driving force behind Data Science’s position as one of the top three global job rankings. If a company wants to be as efficient and productive as possible in the twenty-first century, it must make the most of the data it has access to.

Machine Learning and Data Science are built on powerful languages like Python and R Programming, which are easily accessible today. These can be used for extensive analysis with only a few lines of code, which can be learned in conjunction with a day job or full-time education.

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam once said, “Learning gives creativity, creativity leads to thinking, thinking provides knowledge and knowledge makes you great”. Today, the edtech industry is in a way a manifestation of Dr Kalam’s vision, ensuring that knowledge and education are accessible to all, regardless of barriers.