Skill up and get hired: Skaut’s IT-enabled model starts fighting COVID job-loss

Kochi / February 16, 2022

A Kerala-based startup has launched a portal that facilitates easy hiring of educated and experienced jobseekers by bridging their skill gaps, an initiative that would also help those who may have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The technology-driven portal— Skaut — assists candidates in both job search and skill development through courses available on its platform. Another USP of the portal is that it helps companies to simplify their hiring process.

“We have started this startup to address the issue of growing unemployment and skill gap,” said Skaut Chairman Dr M Ayyappan, a former Chairman and Managing Director of HLL Lifecare Limited.

Skaut Director Dr Kuncheria P Isaac pointed out that lack of skillsets is a major issue confronting the industry as several candidates, though well-qualified, remain unemployable. "This paradox can be addressed through reforms in the education sector over a time. Candidates who keep searching for jobs in reputed companies neglect small- and medium-scale firms with good salaries,” said Dr Isaac, who is the founder-Vice Chancellor of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University (formerly Kerala Technological University). “Skaut promises to solve this issue."

The brain behind the venture are three young engineers — Mathew Kuruvilla, Matthew George and Rahul Cherian.

Skaut is currently open for registration for jobseekers in all sectors, says Mathew Kuruvilla, CEO, Skaut.

The portal aids candidates in matching with the best suitable jobs with the help of a software, which also analyses their education and skillsets. Employees who want to enhance their career prospects by upgrading their skills can signup for courses offered by Skaut. "The candidates successfully completing the courses will become eligible for jobs listed on our portal,” he adds.

A major objective of Skaut is to keep candidates updated with new skills in order to make them relevant and augment their employment potential. The portal offers tools to analyse their skillsets adhering to global standards. It also has an AI (artificial intelligence) system for deeper analysis.

The portal makes it easier for human resource managers to find highly skilled candidates who are best fit for their roles. It also helps companies significantly reduce the hiring cost and time by simplifying the recruiting process. If recruiters feel that candidates are not skilled enough, they can ask them to get skilled by selecting courses from Skaut.

Some of the best companies across the world have partnered with Skaut to reach out to potential candidates, according to its promoters.