Democratising Up-skilling for the Future of Work

Aiming to bridge the region’s tech talent gap, Xccelerate offers tech education to upskill graduates and working professionals in government and private enterprises, with Hong Kong as its starting point.

With technological advancement accelerating, the demand for tech talent and skill sets in all industries is skyrocketing. Xccelerate, a 2017 Hong Kong-established transformative EdTech and future-of-work company, seeks to bridge the digital literacy skill gap between traditional education and today’s necessary tech skill sets. It aims to empower aspiring individuals, enterprises and governments to dive into the ocean of the world’s most sought-after profession.

Xccelerate offers hybrid learning-style tech education: data science, machine learning, blockchain and coding. Its courses target fresh graduates and working professionals looking to transform their current career and organisations for the fourth industrial revolution. Since its inception, Xccelerate has trained more than 3,500 professionals and boasts a 91 percent hiring success rate. Its track record includes placements in leading companies and public agencies such as Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority, IBM and Microsoft.

Building a sustainable top-notch model

“In Hong Kong, we have an opportunity to make a significant impact in post-graduate tech education and contribute to the homegrown skilled talent pool for companies and governments,” said Lavine Hemlani, CEO and Founder. “Here, we can create a sustainable platform for human capital empowerment at both the individual and the society levels. We can then tailor and scale that up in other Asian regions in the coming years.”

With SMEs and corporations recognising the growing demand for innovation and technology adoption, Xccelerate provides them with bespoke tech training in Python, AI, data analytics, Tableau, RPA, machine learning and Design Thinking. After achieving success with its highly engaging hybrid-style learning, Xccelerate is developing a cutting-edge digital platform, crafting pure online learning to content which caters to the attention demands of digital consumers. Aiming to disrupt live-streaming EdTech to make online learning just as stimulating as traditional offline education, the platform will launch in 2020 in Hong Kong followed by a regional Asian campaign.

Initially, Hemlani realised that it was important to focus on its core flagship offerings and mature vertically to solidify its market penetration. “We want to be sure that
we provide a top-notch service in Hong Kong before we venture out into other parts of Asia,” he noted. “Education is coveted here in Hong Kong and the government provides many incentives and schemes that enable the public to continually pursue opportunities to grow. We want to be a key resource for those initiatives.”

Beginning with only two staff members, Xccelerate now has a fully-operational team of 15 people in Hong Kong. Their roles range from sales, marketing and administration, to instructional, curriculum, product and teaching staff for its immersive courses as well as enterprise and government workforce solutions. The company also has dedicated staff for job-matching services, connecting students with businesses.

“InvestHK assisted us with navigating visa applications and administrative structuring in our early stages,” Hemlani recalled. “They continue to help us catalyse communications with key influencers. What’s most refreshing is their level of responsiveness and openness to communication in times of need.”