By Shravan Goli, Chief Operating Officer
Broadband connectivity, online learning, and remote work are unlocking new ways for individuals to participate in the global economy, regardless of their location or prior experience. The new labor market can uncover more equitable career opportunities for job seekers with the right skills and credentials. Increasingly, employers are considering skills-based hiring to address talent shortages and boost their workplace diversity. However, verifying a candidate’s skill remains challenging, especially for entry-level roles, when a career starter or switcher may lack a college degree or relevant prior work experience.
Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of Coursera Hiring Solutions (Beta), our skills-based recruitment service that matches industry-trained, job-ready talent with companies filling entry-level digital roles.
With Coursera Hiring Solutions:
- Job seekers can develop the skills and earn credentials they need to be considered for entry-level, digital jobs – and showcase them to employers. They can use their Skills Profile to showcase their job readiness with credentials, assessments, projects, and more. This can include entry-level Professional Certificates from leading companies like Google, Meta, and IBM, skill proficiency assessments, and projects that allow job seekers to demonstrate their skills to employers with work samples.
- Employers can expand and diversify their candidate pool by gaining access to industry-trained, job-ready talent. Recruiters can use the Talent Dashboard to view pre-qualified entry-level talent, all in one place, with filters to identify candidates that meet their unique sourcing requirements. They can also verify candidate skill proficiency at scale with role-based skills assessments and use projects to evaluate a candidate’s ability to apply their skills in realistic on-the-job scenarios.
- Universities and governments can strengthen employment outcomes by helping job seekers demonstrate job readiness and unlock career opportunities outside their local community.
Job seekers can use their Skills Profile to showcase their job readiness with credentials, assessments, projects, and more.
Recruiters can use the Talent Dashboard to view pre-qualified entry-level talent, all in one place, with filters to identify candidates that meet their unique sourcing requirements.
Coursera Hiring Solutions is now available to learners and a select number of employers in India, with plans to expand to the US in the coming months.
In India, 2 out of 3 employers say that a major hiring challenge is finding applicants with the right skills for the job – a trend likely to rise with a growing skills gap and rapid population growth. Leading Indian employers, including Axis Bank are piloting the offering to address this challenge by uncovering talent from campuses across India, such as Graphic Era Deemed to be University, K L Deemed To Be University, and Chandigarh University.
Axis Bank has implemented an inclusive hiring approach that evaluates candidates based on their skill set, instead of subjective criteria like company “culture fit.” The company is using Coursera Hiring Solutions to identify and recruit talent based on skills, rather than relying solely on formal qualifications such as having a college degree, or limiting candidates to certain cities or colleges.
“We are excited to leverage Coursera Hiring Solutions to access their pool of industry-certified campus learners and recruit entry-level talent faster and at scale. This partnership provides us with a unique opportunity to reach learners across the country to build a more inclusive and diverse workforce, aligning with our strategy of hiring and training skilled talent.”
–Rajkamal Vempati, Head of Human Resources at Axis Bank
“With the hiring solution from Coursera, we’re able to augment our placement program and create more opportunities for success in new economy careers. The Professional Certificates help our students build and showcase their skills, giving them a competitive edge with employers seeking candidates for high-demand tech roles.”
– Dr. Durgaprasad Gangodkar, Dean-International Affairs and Professor at Graphic Era Deemed to be University
“Coursera’s high-quality career training from industry leaders allowed me to build a competitive skills profile and gain visibility among top recruiters that landed me my dream job as a software developer at Axis Bank in a highly competitive industry.”
– Anagha Bhardwaj, Graphic Era Deemed to be University graduate and soon-to-be software developer at Axis Bank
Rapid technological shifts have created a qualified talent shortage, causing employers to look beyond traditional hiring pools and degree requirements to fulfill open roles. Global companies such as Google, IBM, and EY have adopted skills-based hiring to expand and diversify their talent pipelines – and roughly 90% of employers using skills-based hiring have reduced their time and cost to hire and increased workplace diversity. According to a global Coursera 2022 survey, 97% of employers are considering following suit to address skilled talent shortages.
We’re delighted to present Hiring Solutions, an innovative approach to connecting learners with entry-level digital jobs, and advance our efforts to make skills-based hiring a reality.
For more information, visit coursera.org/hiring-solutions. If you are an India-based Coursera for Business or Government customer interested in joining the Beta, please reach out to your customer success manager.