Indian edtech platform upGrad is all set to hire 1,400 new employees between November 2022 to March 2023 across India and its global offices. Majority of these will work as faculty trainers and experts, the company stated. 

This comes as positive news at a time when edtech are facing flak for laying off their workforce. Recently, Byju’s decided to lay off almost 5 per cent of its workforce, or 2,500 employees, to achieve profitability by March 2023. Another edtech unicorn Unacademy has had a series of firings, from retrenching 10,000 contractual and full-time employees in April and shaving another 10 per cent of its current workforce. 

Vedantu, Lido, Brainly, Practically—the list is long. And hence, the decision by the Ronnie Screwvala-backed edtech to hire people comes as a welcome breath of fresh air.

The Mumbai-based start-up is also planning on strengthening its business in multiple states across the country. It recently acquired 3,35,000 square feet of land on lease for expansion across four cities. It will set up office spaces, offline campuses, housing for learners, studios, and training rooms at facilities on these sites. 

In Mumbai, the company closed an area of 2,00,000 square feet for its learner housing programme. To expand KnowledgeHut into boot camps, the company acquired 25,000 square feet of land in Bengaluru. Additionally, the company acquired 25,000 square feet in Pune to expand one of its subsidiaries Talentedge, and 40,000 square feet in sector 125, Noida to set up ‘upGrad Abroad’--its study abroad division. 

Currently, upGrad is operating 30 offices in 10 cities across India. Globally, it is present in Singapore, San Fransisco, Indonesia, New York, the Middle East, London, Vietnam, Washington, and Australia. Till date, upGrad claims to have helped 8.2 million learners in soft skills, test prep, college-linked programs, credential-linked programs, placements, job changes, and career enhancement, the company said in the statement. 

Talking about the expansion planning, co-founder and managing director (MD) Mayank Kumar said, "Domestic expansion has been a priority for us. While our business model is reaping 100%+ results quarter-on-quarter, it's important for us to reinvest our gains to scale the impact we aim to drive. We are expanding to house the larger teams that we are bringing on board. Also, while our focus is on strong online delivery models, we encourage our current and prospective learners to meet us in person while they decide on the right program for themselves. Thus, having an offline presence allows us to be closer to our learners in their lifelong learning journey."