This is surely a big leap forward and a positive one at that. According to reports, Flipkart has started hiring fresh graduates based on the capabilities they have built through Udacity’s Nanodegree Programs. And yes, these graduates did not have to face any in-person interviews.

This move clearly shows that Indian companies (especially startups) are open to move away from traditional hiring methods and are looking at people who are building their expertise through online education portals like Udacity!

Peeyush Ranjan, CTO at Flipkart said, “The kind of disruptive work that we do at Flipkart demands a world-class talent pool and we are constantly on the lookout for experts who can solve the problems of Indian consumers. The conventional hiring process often comes down to the performance of the candidate on that specific day, which may not be a true reflection of their skills and temperament. This is where a partner like Udacity comes into the picture”

We think it is a great move for 2 reasons – One, the education imparted on these portals is based on the Industry requirement. They are flexible and are able to accommodate education that focuses on needs to companies like Flipkart. Udacity’s Nanodegree programs are built by companies such as Google, Facebook, Cloudera and Amazon among others, bringing the latest technical knowledge to students anywhere in the world.

By hiring such graduates, Flipkart gets candidates that can start on the job from day one without need of additional training, which is generally imparted to fresh graduates, as most of the times the traditional curriculum does not cover the skills required on the jobs.

Now, with Flipkart taking the lead in hiring graduates based on Nanodegrees, it won’t be long before other startups and even traditional IT organizations make a beeline for such freshers!

Potentially, This Can change how India Inc Hires

According to a recent Aspiring Mind report, 80% of all engineering graduates in India are not fit for jobs. Online Education and Nanodegrees can help such students tremendously by imparting education that is focused on Industry needs.

Also, India is right now in desperate need to skilled manpower especially in mobile space. Mobile developers are in very short supply. According to a recent IAMAI report, India will need over 20 million mobile developers by 2020. Looking at this requirement Google themselves have launched Android based online courses in partnership with Udacity & Tata Trusts!

With Flipkart taking the the lead, it has now open the floodgates for Indian students who are acquiring skills through online portals.

A very positive step forward indeed…