IIT-B's Spoken Tutorial to empower students from tier-2 and tier-3 cities in finding jobs
The Spoken Tutorial project, developed at the IIT Bombay, brought together industry and academic leaders to explore a more efficient future for finding jobs in India, at a panel discussion on challenges faced by students from tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
The discussion titled 'Hiring 2.0 in a Digital World', was part of the programme Education Technology for Nation Building held at Victor Menezes Convention Centre (VMCC) at IIT Bombay's campus in Mumbai's Powai.
The discussion focused on the need to move beyond traditional hiring practices like resumes, referrals, and job fairs, which often fail to serve those outside urban centers.
The panel included dignitaries such as Professor Kannan Moudgalya, inventor of Spoken Tutorial, Ashank Desai, chairman of Mastek, Prof Tara S Shaw of IIT Bombay, and Gaurav Gupta, Chief Growth Officer, EkStep Foundation.
In partnership with EkStep and Proofofskill, Spoken Tutorial piloted a model where students could create verified digital profiles using voice-based, local language skill assessments.
Employers, in turn, could act on these trusted signals—reducing hiring time to just 15 minutes.The organisers shared that the pilot was designed with inclusion at its core—supporting voice inputs, local languages, and formats for students from tier-2 and tier-3 towns.
'This is not about replacing what works, but digitising what doesn't,' said Professor Moudgalya, emphasising the model's potential to empower students and MSMEs alike.
Ashank Desai noted the strain MSMEs face during recruitment and how digital hiring can free up founders to focus on growth. With over 600 million working-age Indians, the panel called for urgent collaboration to scale inclusive hiring solutions.
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