Indian startup raises second round of investment to help students enter the job market

iSTAR, an Indian training and skill development startup received a new round of investment from Unitus Seed Fund today. iSTAR has been a part of Unitus Seed Fund’s portfolio since April 2013, when they raised their first round of seed funding.

iSTAR works towards increasing the chances for university students to find employment after graduation. According to the company, 85 percent of students do not get employed due to lack of training in their chosen industry or lack of relevant positions.

India is expected to have 40 million new jobs by 2020. As of 2012 there are 37 million graduates who are unemployed due to a lack of vocational training. The industry-specific skill requirements are constantly on the rise and an academically oriented education sector is inhibiting students from gaining practical, industry relevant training. For example, the logistics sector in India will require 28.4 million skilled human resources by 2022. To fulfil such demands, it is crucial to develop the future Indian workforce to provide quality services, thus promoting growth.

Surga Thilakan, co-founder at iSTAR believes there are plenty of opportunities to provide integral services like skill development, as state governments allow a comfortable environment for such businesses to grow.

Initially, the startup was present in 15 colleges across Karnataka serving 1,200 students with a team of 15 trainers. In two years it has expanded into a team of 150 trainers functioning in three states who are training over 17,000 students.

With the funding, iSTAR plans to expand its operations further across more states and to work with the department of higher education at the government of Kerala. They also plan to invest in their technology platform.

India is tailoring policies that will help implement a steady increase in the number of skilled youth graduating every year with industry specific qualifications.