Netflix did not kill Blockbusters, the ridiculous late fees did – Netflix encashed it. Uber did not kill the taxi business, the limited access to taxis and the fares did – Uber encashed it. Apple did not kill the music business, but being forced to buy full length albums did – Apple encashed it. Amazon did not kill the other retailers, bad customer service and experiences did – Amazon encashed it. Airbnb is not killing the hotel industry, limited availability and pricing options are doing – Airbnb encashing it. These are different models of using digital transformation technologies – AR, VR, AI, Big Data, IOT, Blockchain etc.

Likewise, there is a vacuum in higher education space. Students even after paying heavily and completing their studies/training are labelled as ‘unemployable’. This may be an opportunity to encash. A digital platform may be developed that is independent of government(s) and regulatory bodies. It comprehensively educates, trains and provide necessary skills in letter and spirit to students (say engineering students) discipline wise (electrical, mechanical, IT etc.) and make them ‘employable’. The effort may then be repeated for other disciplines. Once these students are well trained and have necessary skills, the industry will come forward and employ them without any university degree because skills and efficiency of an employee have become more important than the degrees. Such a platform can become another Netflix/Uber/Amazon/Airbnb.

Some players with just complementary role are already there such as Coursera for wide ranging subjects, ELIS for improvement in skills, SWAYAM for class 9^th to PG courses, DIKSHA for 12^th class, NROER for repository of e-books and e-courses. A portal with a pin pointed focus on specific skills for employability is therefore needed.