Sixerclass, an end-to-end mobile and cloud Student Management Software for managing, tracking and analysing their data has earned continuous appreciation from many stakeholders in the skills space. Started in 2016 with an aim to bring technology into the skill sector, today, Sixerclass is working with almost 40 partners and 400+ training centers. In this Skill Story, Swathi Komandur, Founder and CEO, Sixerclass, tells us more about the evolution of the application and how it has been aligned with many state and central government schemes. Let’s read on…
Tell us about Sixerclass and what motivated you to develop it.
Having spent significant time on the ground at skill training centres, I saw the sheer choas. The team would go to ITIs, employment exchanges and job fairs to gather data about the youth. They would carry information written on papers, screen shots from registers and print outs. This information used to get transferred into various excel sheets or worse, it would remain on paper! It sits on someone’s computer or in an email. Nobody knew where the data came from and who had it. A month later, my mobilizer quits. The data is lost forever. Now, the new team starts the same routine again – running to the ITIs, employment exchanges and getting the same data!
There had to be a better way to organize and manage information. That’s how Sixerclass was born. There are software for schools and colleges, but the skilling space is different! The short term nature of the programs, mobilization efforts, connecting to employment are all very different and it needed a different solution – a digital solution for our digital age.
What are the key focus areas of Sixerclass application?
Our initial focus was on solving the day-to-day operational issues of the training partner through technology. We started with the basic problems every training institute faces: Mobilisation, Conversions to Admission, Attendance, Assessments, Certification and Placement.
We also focussed on mobile based solutions that work with patchy internet connectivity. Our mobile app works offline to help institutes capture data on the field, enables taking attendance for staff and students even with biometric integration.
We also have a comprehensive solution to track the entire project lifecycle which includes targets to be achieved, timelines, add-ons like Stipend calculation, On-the-job training, Travel allowance, Center Inventory Management and Invoicing on reaching the milestones set for the project.
Our next product is a complete online assessments / aptitude tests solution which allows the training partners to take tests on a tablet or web that works offline!
What are some of the main features and functionalities of Sixerclass application?
Let me contextualise the way our application works through an example. A typical training institute runs multiple projects at multiple centers / locations. Some are government Schemes (State or Center), few are CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) via grants, with a mix of fee-based courses.
In Sixerclass, we allow training partners to have multiple centers, create projects, have different admission criteria for each and assign them with targets, quotas, milestones etc. For fee-based courses, the entire fee tracking is also available.
The institute now needs audience to come and absorb their training programs. So, they go to events in local areas, colleges and social media to source students. Sixerclass has many ways in the which enquires flow into the application.
- Mobile App – here mobilizers can quickly feed data even without network and sync later.
- Web-based enquiries – This can be used for social media or in events where potential students can show interest in courses on their own.
- Via bulk upload or Individual entries by the mobilizer.
The institute can then reach out by targeting the right students via SMS campaigns or call sheet. They never miss a candidate!
With students now converting easily through the application, the center needs to schedule batches, allocate trainers and understand the performance of the student in the Batch. In Sixerclass, the training center can mark attendance via web or mobile app and even click a picture of the class for monitoring and proof. Assessments can be entered manually or through online test conducted at the center. The trainer can mark subject and topic completed on a daily basis giving great insights to the management on progress.
Sixerclass also provides the training institutes to add companies and job openings and match it to the students looking for a job. Once the students are placed, post-placement tracking is enabled automatically. Call sheets are created every month on who needs to be called for tracking including uploading a pay slip. The best part for the training institute is every role has only permissions to the centers and activities they do, limiting the possibility of errors.
Tell us more about the unique features of your product.
We are one of the few companies who incorporate intuitive analytics. This feature enables our customers to gain insights on the health of their projects. It helps them visualise the data across different centres and student demographics. We also customise our analytical services for each of our customers according to their desired metrics and requirements.
On the whole, Sixerclass is looking at digitising the entire training sphere, creating an ecosystem for the skill space, tackling the problems with latest technology and even better customer experience. Our vision is to build a global skill network – the platform that connects skills, students, jobs and institutes. We have just began our journey and I truly believe that a disruption is waiting to happen in the skill space!
Can you name the top three problems that you’re solving for the training ecosystem from the training institute’s perspective?
- Tracking Project Lifecycle. For a lot of institutes, it is a very critical step because their entire future funding depends on accuracy and transparency in project management. The proper management of projects and meeting the requirements of whoever’s funding them, be it the CSR organisations or government, is very crucial to them. So I’d say that helping the centers with accurate tracking of data in every stage of the activity cycle, is one of our big achievements.
- Mobilisation. Capturing data during the mobilisation is a challenging task for many training centers. The mobilizer location is also critcal. Sixerclass geotags the location of the mobilizer and the training partner can see it. The training partners will know what is actually happening on the ground. Our app also helps in the analysis of enquiry conversion to admission conversion.
- Daily Training Activities and Analytics Sixerclass triggers alerts and notifications on daily activities like if attendance has been marked, trainer have marked the topic and subject completed, assessment etc. This allows the institutes to know what is happening on a daily basis and take appropriate actions.
So if I had to pick, I think these are the three most critical challenges that training institutes face and Sixerclass strives to address them in the best way possible.
To know more about Sixerclass, contact Swathi at swathi@sixerclass.com
