Clicking up the Ladder

Management education has gone online with a vengeance, fed by the pandemic and the emergence of edtech companies, and by employees looking to rise up the value chain

- BHAVYA KAUSHAL AND BINU PAUL

THE ROADS WERE empty. The offices were padlocked. The parks were desolate and the sky was blue. As a restless race cooled its heels indoors, several screens flashed to life, providing a window to the world that was. As human kind hunkered down to deal with the pandemic, using technology as their tool to keep the world running, the screen became the lifeline to the rest of the world.

From meetings online to shopping, from attending schools online to remotely accessing office networks for important projects and, of course, for matters of entertainment, the screen became your constant companion. An added benefit was the abundance of time many office-goers had—thanks to the absence of commutes. As productivity increased, so did the need for skills in new-fangled fields such as digital marketing and data science. And the screen was the solution again. A portion of the workforce took to online courses with gusto, learning important skill sets to advance their careers. And these courses were offered not just by traditional institutes, but also by a bunch of up-and-coming edtech players.