India is a young country. How Young - very, very young.
the average age of India's population is below 25 years. Approximately, 77 crore of our people, or about 70 percent of the population, fall below the age of 35.
Furthermore, 30% of the population is below the age of 14, half of it below the age of 25. With the Right to Education coming being mandated, the number of students entering school is going to be greater than ever before. India will have almost a third of its population, around 400 million children, at various stages in the school system. Simultaneously higher education and vocational training sectors are going to be propelled by two factors:
- The first is increasing aspirations of the population which sees education and training as an investment in prosperity not just for one generation but generation after generation
- The demand of qualified, trained individuals by a growing industrial and service sector.
The demand for quality primary and higher education, in India, is already on the upswing. Industry and Government has seen providing educational and training services to this young population as a major opportunity area and have begun making substantial investments. The President, declared a few years ago
that
...focused strategies and investments will be required to develop our vast human capital. It is not enough for our people to be young. It is also necessary that they be educated, skilled, and trained to give their best to the country.
Also, given that a substantial proportion (70%) of India lives in her villages, it is important that quality education and training remains not concentrated in the largest metros but moves inward into smaller towns. The Government remains the largest supplier of education in India, but the numbers require a high level of private intervention. A number of companies have set up business in this area propelled by a passion to educate and train, but the numbers ensure that there is space for more. Along with the need to provide primary, secondary and higher education, there is a demand for specialised courses, professional courses and continuous skills development. India and Indian industry realise that they need a pool of educated and skilled labor that is continuously upgrading its skills to remain relevant.
--------------------------
India's education market, has three major thrust areas. The first is the k-12 segment that is going to teach, nurture and shape 30% of India's population over the next 12 years. The second is the higher education segment , which is the third largest in the world and expected to grow into second position over the next decade. And finally there is the technical and skills development sector. It is estimated that
700million people need to be trained by 2025. That is a tremendous task for any economy and provides tremendous opportunities for people in the education and training sector.
While private players have been present in the skills training space for well over two decades, the last decade has seen a large number of companies entering the market to provide primary, and secondary education. And, this trend is not limited to the big cities of top of pyramid education services. This period has also seen a large number of private universities being set up, and traditional universities offer more and more unaided courses that meet the requirement of the industry.
--------------------------
The demand for quality education and training is not just restricted to the large metros but moving inwards, for a variety of reasons including costs and space.
Rural BPOs, for example are helping provide high end employment at villages for a fraction of the cost that the same service can be provided in cities.
Vindhya’s, a BPO based in the southern state of Karnataka, has taken the rural BPO model a step forward. It has hired differently abled employees and trained them to handle the demands of customers. The key in higher education and skills training is going to be providing
relevant skills.
One of the top executive in an Indian BPO said that there are many graduate women available in the rural area who can be employed for skilled jobs.
India is a big, densely populated nation that exists beyond its largest cities. And, many believe that this is where the market is going to boom.
Dr.Uma Ganesh, CEO of
Global Track Talent, is one of the companies that has set up to provide Indian students with employable skills and Indian Industry with a highly trained workforce. Her company has set up centers not just in the main metros but in the smaller cities and towns. She believes that there is a tremendous hunger for education and the linked empowerment associated with education in these areas. Her company has successfully trained people in some states and geared them up for the jobs market. Her company has pioneered a very interesting mode of working together with the existing university system – it acts as a bridge between the needs of Industry and the Academic system. Her company understand the demands of the industry, develops a curriculum that fits these needs and offers the course within the university system. And, that is where there is huge potential vis-à-vis the education and training market. Providing relevant skills for a growing market. With the growth expected over the next decade in areas like infrastructure, energy, health, agriculture, food processing, services – the demand for education and training is only going to increase. In addition to these areas, it is believed that skills and employment needs to be developed in many new areas.. Uma Ganesh, believes that India needs
better tools, better techniques, better methodologies, better trainers and better understanding of the emerging trends of all of these sectors. And, in the next 20-25 years atleast there is going to be a huge need and huge investment happening in infrastructure, in healthcare, and that is why it is going to be exciting for any foreign training company or educational institution coming into India. To start with it would be ideal for them to partner with some of the institutions here to understand the ecosystem and to make it commercially successful at the same time as they understand industry needs.
Already many foreign players are setting up shop in India addressing the top of the pyramid requirements. However, the middle and the bottom of the pyramid offers so much more opportunity.