In a Country of Degrees but Few Skills, Alkemy EdTech Bets on a New Kind of Education

Every year, millions of young Indians graduate from college with dreams of landing a stable job. And every year, a stark reality greets them: the jobs they studied for no longer exist — or require skills they were never taught.

This disconnect, between what universities teach and what employers need, has long defined India’s education crisis. Despite producing one of the world’s largest pools of graduates, the country continues to struggle with high youth unemployment and underemployment, particularly in fields like marketing, data, and technology — sectors growing faster than the talent pipeline can support.

At the center of a quiet movement to change that is Alkemy EdTech, a Hyderabad-based startup with a simple but radical mission: to bridge the gap between education and employability — and to do it faster, smarter, and more humanely than the systems built before.

A Broken Promise — and a New Path

For decades, the promise of education in India was linear: work hard, earn a degree, get a job. But as automation, AI, and digital transformation reshape the economy, that promise has begun to fray.

“Colleges still teach as if it’s 2005,” says Alkemy’s founder - Aravinda Paladugu. “We’re preparing students for a world that doesn’t exist anymore. Our mission is to prepare them for the one that does.”

Alkemy’s approach is unapologetically practical. Its flagship FastTrack Digital Marketing Career Program strips away abstract theory in favor of the skills employers actually hire for: SEO, PPC

analytics, content strategy, and AI-powered marketing. Students spend their time not memorizing slides but building campaigns, analyzing data, and mastering the tools used in real agencies.

It’s an approach designed for speed as much as depth. In just 30 days, Alkemy says a learner with no prior background can become “job-ready” — not just certified. That means leaving with a portfolio of real work, a recruiter-reviewed résumé and LinkedIn profile, and, crucially, direct interview opportunities with partner companies.

Rewriting the Transition from Classroom to Career

The “last mile” between learning and employment résumé gaps, interview prep, and lack of industry exposure is where many edtech initiatives fall short. Alkemy builds that bridge into the learning journey itself.

Each learner is paired with mentors who work on live campaigns. Training happens on the same tools professionals use - Google Ads, SEMrush, Meta Ads Manager, Ahrefs, Canva AI — ensuring familiarity with real workflows. Hiring partners are invited into the classroom not as distant recruiters, but as co-creators shaping the curriculum around what the market truly needs.

“We work closely with our hiring partners to understand what they truly value in digital marketers,” says Anvesh Reddy, currently heading Human Resources & Employability at Alkemy EdTech. “It’s rarely about mastering every technical skill. What matters is whether a candidate can think logically, communicate clearly, and execute the basics with confidence.”

He explains that many employers assume fresh graduates understand the fundamentals — but most don’t. “That’s where we come in,” he says. “We train learners in the actual tools, workflows, and problem-solving approaches that agencies and startups use every day.”

“Most companies aren’t looking for perfection,” he continues. “They’re looking for someone who can start on day one with a working grasp of how campaigns run, how data flows, and how teams collaborate. The difference between a résumé that gets shortlisted and one that doesn’t often comes down to practical exposure — and that’s why our programs are built around doing, not memorizing. We prepare people to perform, not just to qualify.” 

Beyond Courses: A Movement Against Systemic Inequality

What sets Alkemy apart is not just its programs, but the mission underneath them. The company sees itself not merely as a training provider, but as part of a larger solution to India’s youth unemployment crisis — a problem tied as much to inequality and outdated policy as it is to curriculum.

Many Alkemy learners come from non-metro towns or middle-class families who cannot afford expensive international bootcamps. For them, the promise of a ₹3-lakh-a-year entry-level job in digital marketing is life-changing. It’s also a stepping stone — to freelancing, entrepreneurship, or remote work for global clients.

In a country where talent often outpaces opportunity, Alkemy’s model is deliberately inclusive: short-duration, high-impact programs that lower barriers to entry and open doors to the digital economy