The ever-changing dynamics of the industry demands the workforce to be updated with knowledge of the latest tech upgrades and trends.
However, there is a huge skill gap even among the top-performing employees of organisations, who are unable to keep pace with the rapid advancements in technology. This can be attributed to many reasons, including inadequate training, lack of experience, changing roles, and even economic conditions.
According to The Future of Jobs Report 2023 by the World Economic Forum, the priority skills for training from 2023 to 2027 include AI, Big Data, leadership and social influence, and analytical and critical thinking.
If employees hope to be relevant in the modern landscape, they have to upskill themselves in current technologies, including generative AI, Scrum management framework, and Agile tech.
edForce, a Bengaluru-based edtech startup, strives to offer solutions in this regard.
The startup–which describes itself as a ‘workforce upskill accelerator’–provides a variety of courses and certifications, which enable users to update themselves with technologies that are required in their domain of work, including finance, healthcare, and IT.
The courses, which range from a few hours to weeks, are hybrid in nature combining virtual instructor-led training and offline classroom methods for a flexible learning experience for all employees.
What edForce offers
The focus of edForce is artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) for business development, architecture, and security. Under this, the startup offers courses in AI & ML, deep learning with TensorFlow, natural language processing with Python, ChatGPT QuickStart and ChatGPT Pro.
The architecture courses include Google Cloud Architect, Architecting on AWS, Advanced Architecting on AWS, and Azure Architect Design. edForce also offers courses on DevOps and traditional programming courses in Python, Java, C, C++, and HTML.
To cater to the demands of the automotive industry, which is seeing rapid technological advancements and innovations in design, electronics, and electric vehicles, edForce provides training in Automotive Grade Linux, an open source project; Automotive SPICE, a process assessment model; Embedded C, a programming language; and Adaptive AUTOSAR methodology.
Catering to industry demands
Ravi Kaklasaria and Mrinal Bagaria, the founders of edForce, have around 25 years of collective experience in the edtech industry. Post-pandemic, they realised the need for workforce upskilling and learning that would align with industry demands and decided to start a company that would integrate AI and other emerging technologies into the workspace.
According to Kaklasaria, Co-founder and CEO, edForce, the industry demands learning solutions that go beyond traditional classroom settings and generic online courses. The emphasis is on actionable training, with practical, real-world skills, over theoretical knowledge.
This calls for a dynamic course content that keeps up with rapid technological advancements, particularly in fields like AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, he adds.
edForce aims to meet these demands with courses that offer a personalised learning path catering to individual needs; an adaptive learning platform; microlearning modules that offer flexible, bite-sized learning options for busy professionals; and measurable results and ROI through progress tracking.
The edtech startup has provided certifications and courses to employees of 150 enterprises from IT, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Infosys, Walmart, Siemens, Sony, and HCL are its top clients.
The firm also provides a range of onboarding services including tailored training programmes to equip new hires with essential skills; structured learning paths to guide new hires; assessments to identify employees’ strengths and areas for improvement; hands-on labs; and infrastructure support.
Programme creation and partnerships
The course content is created both in-house as well as through partnerships with industry experts.
Edforce has forged partnerships with 15 global tech leaders including Microsoft, Cisco, Amazon, and Monday.com. Recently, it entered into a partnership SCRUMstudy, a global accreditation body for Scrum and Agile certifications, headquartered in Arizona, USA.
Agile is a project management framework that divides a project into various dynamic phases, while Scrum is a specific Agile methodology that is used to facilitate a project.
The startup has also partnered with Rotterdam-headquartered DevOps Agile Skills Association, which focuses on Agile and DevOps–the integration of development and IT operations for accelerating software delivery and enhancing collaboration.
Growth and challenges
edForce clocked an annual recurring revenue of Rs 28 crore and an EBITDA of around Rs 1 crore in FY24. It expects EBITDA to surge to Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore in the current financial year.
Last year, the company received seed funding of Rs 2 crore from angel investors; 70-80% of it was spent on product development, while the rest went towards sales and marketing.
The edtech firm is looking to secure Rs 7 crore to Rs 8 crore to fund international expansion and to ramp up its automotive product portfolio. It is looking at investors who have experience in the edtech space and can double up as mentors.
Going forward, edForce is looking to launch courses in cybersecurity training, in partnership with CyberGymIEC—a critical infrastructure-native cyber defence company (a joint venture between the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) and CYBERGYM).
Plans are afoot for phased international expansion into the Middle East;, Singapore, Australia, Europe including the UK, and the United States over two to three years. The 23-member team is also looking to expand to over 100 employees.
Kaklasaria says keeping up with technological advancements and the diverse learning needs of clients was challenging–as it called for customising solutions for different enterprises while maintaining scalability.
He sees NIIT, Pluralsight, Udemy, Coursera, Upgrad and Greatlearning as some of the direct competitors of edForce.
“While many companies offer instructor-led training and interactive sessions, edForce distinguishes itself through its end-to-end training cycle ownership, ensuring consistency and alignment with client goals,” says Kaklasaria, adding that edForce addresses the full spectrum of training needs–from onboarding to advanced certifications.
“We look to become one of the top three workforce upskillers in India and cross a revenue of Rs 100 crore by FY26,” he states.
The future points to a dichotomy between job displacement and job creation.
According to the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs report, by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced; however, 97 million new roles will also emerge, in line with the shift in the division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms.
edForce will be keen to get the workforce future-ready and skilled enough to tap into the emerging new opportunities.
Edited by Swetha Kannan
