Talerang, coined out of a mix of talent plus boomerang, began as a research project by Shveta Raina at the Harvard Business School. Shveta sensed the growing need to find a solution to combat India’s work-readiness crisis. Many companies too have been raising concerns about how theoretical knowledge is not translating to real time work at workspaces. Shveta’s brainchild, Talerang aims to bridge this gap.
“At Talerang, we bridge the work-readiness crisis through experiential training, access to internships and mentorship. Our curriculum is different from the traditional lecture-driven model. Students learn through case studies, group activities, industry mentors, peer-review, offsites and simulation projects,” explains Shveta.
Competencies
Talerang has over 250 corporate partners who hire talent for structured, paid, specific internships, where the students are supported by managers and mentors. “Based on my research conducted with students, faculty and corporates, there is a gap of six core competencies in our college education system. Students lack self-awareness, a clear life vision, communication skills, the ability to work smart, make a good first impression and understand how to bridge to the right career. Once students have these competencies, they need to develop a marketable skill, such as coding, design or analytics,” says Shveta.
The need of the hour is for colleges to have structured placement cells that work closely with the industry to ensure students are better prepared for their careers. Internships are a must as they give students the practical exposure in a particular skill track.
Talerang bridges this gap through their training curriculum researched at the Harvard Business School. This is complemented with interaction opportunities with industry professionals, a structured and paid summer internship in a chosen skill-track, and lifelong mentorship. The flagship Future CEOs programme and Talerang Online have an application process which includes an online form, a phone interview and a video challenge. Once selected, students are trained in a three step work-readiness programme that gives them access to 100 hours of career training, a 400-hour internship and mentorship for life.
Initially, students needed to be present in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru or Pune for the training. “However we recently launched Talerang Online, which will give students access to our programme from any part of the country. We are need-blind, which means that we accept students based on merit. Students who cannot afford our fees are provided a scholarship. Students who do pay fees can also earn back the fees invested in the training during their internships, helping them breakeven on their investment.
Impact
Students are invited right from their first, second or third year of college. Those who have leadership skills, are motivated and want to do internships are Talerang’s most sought after. The Future CEOs programme is offered in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi, while Talerang Online is open for students across the country. “We have facilitators from the industry on our team that conduct trainings. They go through a rigorous certification process before they can run a batch independently. Several of our alumni join the Talerang team as they believe in our mission. We also have an Alumni Advisory Panel (who mentor existing students). This is an effective way for the alumni to give back and make a difference,” says Shveta.
