Colaberry Work of the Future Ecosystem

Ram Dhan Yadav Katamaraja is a tech entrepreneur committed to leverage technology and education in preparing the workforce of the future. In 2012, he founded Colaberry while on a mission to help U.S. veterans transition into rewarding civilian careers. Under his leadership, Colaberry grew into a company that now serves individuals from all backgrounds in pursuit of data-driven careers as well as enterprises in need of data talent and reskilling/upskilling workforce solutions. Colaberry has helped over 10,000 individuals from over 45 countries to transition into data analytics and data science jobs. 

Ram holds a Master of Arts from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Technology from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University. He regularly presents at work of the future events, and has spoken at the United Nations, World Bank, Harvard Business School, and MIT.

Amongst the most pressing issues facing many countries across the globe is access of working-class adults to good jobs and availability of skilled talent. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the number of displaced workers in need of innovative training solutions. Existing education and training programs are often ineffective: they are not nimble enough to respond timely to market shifts and needs. Consequently, millions of people are left behind while the lack of skilled workforce stunts business growth and inhibits economic development. 

Colaberry offers a unique ecosystem of people, processes, and technology to develop in-demand skills for the future of work. We aim to radically transform outdated educational models through skill-based learning to provide a more direct pathway between education and employment.

“By 2030 as many as 375 million workers - or roughly 14 percent of the global workforce - may need to switch occupational categories as digitization, automation, and advances in artificial intelligence disrupt the world of work.” (The McKinsey Global Institute)

The unfolding COVID-19 crisis is accelerating this anticipated pace of technological disruption around the world. An increasing number of mundane jobs is becoming automated, workers are being displaced. Although new roles are being created, this transition is a world-wide challenge and poses a huge threat to the success of companies and employees if not executed correctly. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will impact every industry and profession across the world. The emergence of these technologies will increase productivity, customer satisfaction, and economic growth. However, it will also transform the workplace and redefine the roles and skills needed. This requires businesses to restructure their processes and reevaluate their talent, strategies, and workforce needs. The key challenge here is putting in place effective training programs to help millions of their workers gain in-demand skills quickly so they can shift to new occupational categories as new technologies are being adopted in the workplace at an increasing rate.

Colaberry Work of the Future ecosystem provides in-demand skills training programs with critical wraparound services to enable successful career transition. Our solution caters to any skill level and provides the pillars of support needed to grasp not only key data and tech skills, but also develop critical human skills such as communication, collaboration, confidence, critical thinking, perseverance, and time management.

We offer instructor-led and self-paced training in data analytics, data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Colaberry courses are designed from the ground-up to focus on the latest tools and approaches to working with data, and on developing integral human skills to assure long-term professional success in the field. 

Our learners have access to a highly curated support system to ensure career success, and  are supported by industry-seasoned mentors who provide interview practice sessions and personalized job coaching. Additional wrap-around services include job placement assistance and professional development opportunities. All supports continue for 12 months after program completion and are provided by staff and Colaberry alumni volunteers. Different models of career entry are embedded into the program, such as internships, externships and virtual apprenticeships.

Our inclusive learning and career development ecosystem provides concrete solutions to individuals in need of market-relevant skills. Our video assignments, facial recognition, real-time feedback, and ongoing mentor support promote effective communication for success in the workplace. 

We serve mostly working-class, mid-career workers, emerging students without market relevant skills, workers without degrees, workers in failing industries, and low-skilled and/or frontline workers - those who are at the highest risk for displacement and restricted from career growth and earning higher wages.  

Our community of learners is a highly diverse population hailing from 45 different countries, and different ethnicities, races, religions, genders, education, and income brackets. We have impacted over 10,000 individuals. Many of our learners have transitioned successfully from low-paying jobs to promising, high-paying, data-driven careers within 12 months. Up-to-date, Colaberry has generated a $100M wage gain.

Colaberry is committed to building a world of data thinkers who embrace technology, and ensuring that both individuals and organizations are prepared to succeed in the future workplace. Our career development ecosystem democratizes data education by enabling everyone regardless of age, race, education, income, or current occupation to have a sustainable, rewarding and successful career in a world powered by technology and AI. Our career development ecosystem is positioned to play a vital role in bridging the opportunity and skill gap to meet new industry needs and the evolving market demand. 

I founded Colaberry in 2012 with a small group of dedicated and passionate technologists, committed to serving our community. At the heart of our mission was the desire to honor US military veterans by equipping them with skills and knowledge to pursue rewarding civilian careers-all for free.

The first cohort of five veterans was an instant success. Soon, we had others knocking on our doors. In 2012, the growing demand for our program led us to turn our part-time passion project into a full-time operation, known now as Colaberry. We expanded our mission to serve individuals from all backgrounds and have been transforming lives ever since.

I firmly believe that innovation and technology should bring people together; it should not create larger divides and opportunity gaps. We intend to be a catalyst that fosters employer-led movements to expand economic and career advancement opportunities for workers. 

Nothing exists today that resembles Colaberry’s reskilling and career transition ecosystem needed to promote success in the future of work - one that facilitates seamless movements in and out of learning and work. We are on a mission to serve as the learning ecosystem of the future, teaching people how to translate key skills from one industry to another. Individuals will overcome AI-induced adversity by gaining future-ready skills and gainful employment – constantly retooling themselves for the future. 

Our ecosystem is built on the foundation of inclusivity, empathy and a dedication to use technological innovations as a force for good and to ensure that everyone —regardless of age, race, income, skill level or current occupation—has the opportunity to thrive in an AI-driven world. Our solution aims to bridge the existing opportunity and skill gaps, helping individuals overcome adversity and organizations overcome disruption.

We are forward-thinking, mission-driven technologists and data scientists with unique perspectives and backgrounds that have enabled the development of a dynamic and innovative future of work ecosystem. Every individual has the chance to succeed if given the opportunity has led to the ongoing success of our programs. 

Our solution offers a unique ecosystem of people, processes and technology to develop in-demand skills for the future of work. We aim to radically transform outdated educational models through skill-based learning to provide a more direct pathway between education and employment.

Colaberry's proven impact has been recognized as a scalable solution to address the global future of work challenge. In 2018, MIT Solve selected our talent training platform, Refactored, as the "Most Promising Work of the Future" solution from over 1,100 global submissions. Notably, Refactored also received General Motors' Prize for Advanced Technologies, McGovern Foundation's AI for the Betterment of Humanity Prize, and MIT Solve's Community Favorite Award. Most recently, our solution was selected by JFF Labs supported by Schmidt Futures as a finalist for the $1 Billion Wage Gain Challenge out of over 90 submissions. 

We train many individuals from marginalized populations, who cope with low self-esteem. Those students often do not believe they can succeed. We have gone through many failures and successes to come up with the right approach to empower those students to believe in their own abilities. 

For example, one of our learners, Kodjovi, an immigrant from Togo, was suffering from speech impairment. Despite holding a Masters degree  in Information Systems, his severe stutter held him back. He ended up working as a TV technician because he did not believe in himself and his ability to overcome his stuttering. My team and I were at first struggling to effectively help Kodjovi overcome his speech impairment that was holding him back. After much brainstorming and numerous iterations, we created a program and built a tool for Kodjovi and others to develop their communication skills. Kodjovi successfully completed our training program and has been climbing the career ladder ever since. He is currently a Data Services IT Manager. 

Our ecosystem creates and nurtures an active community of students, instructors and mentors. We ask graduates to become mentors and help the next generation of students. These mentors function as role models because they have similar backgrounds and have gone through the program successfully. 70% of our students are underserved minorities. Most of them are not even sure what exactly they will be learning. They trust us to show them the path to success and to bring them into a community that supports them without judgement. 

Last year, I worked with my team to organize our first-ever alumni day on our campus in Texas to highlight the power of our community. It was a great success. Many of the alumni shared their inspirational stories of our training’s impact on their personal and professional lives. At Colaberry, we build a community that does not judge individuals based on their past, but encourages people to succeed moving forward.

Nothing exists today that resembles Colaberry’s inclusive reskilling and career transition ecosystem needed to promote success in the future of work - one that facilitates seamless movements in and out of learning and work. It will serve as the learning ecosystem of the future, teaching people how to translate key skills from one industry to another. Individuals will overcome AI-induced adversity by gaining future-ready skills and gainful employment – constantly retooling themselves for the future. 

Technology dictates how we develop, grow, and scale our technology platform. Refactored uses Jupyter to enable AI and ML solutions that create more effective learning experiences through personalization. As the learner progresses in their training, the input creates a more tailored curriculum path to address specific needs. This technology provides real-time assessment data and a comprehensive analysis of their performance throughout the process - vital for both the improvement of the learner and evaluation of the employer. It also enables our training to be virtual, interactive, and on-demand; providing more flexibility and accessibility to increase the number of data-thinkers and solvers. 

One of our barriers when developing the supply of in-demand talent is ensuring that our society’s future data analysts and data scientists have access to technology. Our ecosystem can provide the tools and resources needed to transform individuals into data thinkers, but accessibility is integral to becoming adaptable, lifelong learners. 

 Another challenge we face is shifting employer mindsets around their training, hiring, retaining and advancement talent practices, especially around non-traditional talent pools. 

We continue developing strategic partnerships with social impact organizations, such as Strada and Guild Education, in adopting on-ramps to good jobs framework to provide our learners with promising career pathways.

YearUp: data training for undeserved young adults to enter sustainable, data-focused careers; as a result acceptance rates have increased from competitive industry leaders (e.g. Facebook, Tesla, Google). 

Credly: recognize our learners’ achievements through digital credentialing program.

Indigo Education: offer human skills assessment to our learners.

AWS DeepRacer: teach AI, ML and robotics through engaging, hands-on workshops.

MIT SOLVE: advance and scale our solution to address the global “Work of the Future” challenge by utilizing MIT’s resources (expertise, human capital, and technology).

Strada Education Network: measure social impact of our programs and platforms. 

Texas Refugee Council: accelerate data science skill development and job-readiness. Veterans Coalition of North Central Texas: help veterans transition into civilian careers as data analyst experts, reenter the workforce, and advance in their existing careers. 

Colleges and universities: test the utility and ability of its platform to upskill data science skills, including JNTU, University of Texas Dallas, Saraswathi Pandian Engineering College. 

Bayer: onboard and upskill data scientists and data engineers having strong academic backgrounds but lack industry relevant skills and make them job ready.

B2C: training and career services for individuals with Income Share Agreements (ISA).   

B2B: corporate training, staff augmentation, consulting and tech platform licensing. 

Over the next decade, every industry will be transformed by AI and ML. The emergence of new and unconventional career paths will ensure Colaberry Ecosystem is positioned for long-term sustainability due to skyrocketing demand and untapped market need. We continuously mold our course and skill offerings to fit the workplace needs and our JIT learning, on-demand platform provides the tools for ongoing development. Our tech platform will ensure that companies are ready for change and have the resources to succeed; the ability to be agile and able to respond quickly to changing and evolving market demands.

We have created revenue models that solve for the existing opportunity and skill gap. Individuals looking to build and develop advanced data science skills can sign-up with no initial payment. Refactored then receives a small percentage of salary throughout the first year of employment. Companies have various options that will strengthen the on-boarding process and upskill existing talent. Organizations can choose from the following options: 

• Access fee to the talent database

• Pay-per-hire fee

• Pay-per-employee subscription fee for courses that we offer. 

• Pay a licensing fee and we design/create custom course offerings and specific learning pathways.

So far we have been self-funding this solution through internal means. We are ploughing back profits from our other lines of businesses to fund this solution. Over the last 12 months, we have generated revenues to the tune of $14.1M and used about $800K of the profits towards the development and operations of our career development ecosystem.