Giving Compass' Take:

• Jon Russell reports that Skill-Lync, an online learning startup, is backing up their program with a money-back guarantee for those who take the mechanical engineering courses and fail to get a job. 

• Is this a sustainable model for education across fields? 

• Learn about an organization paying students to learn to code. 

Skill-Lync started out as a YouTube channel to share engineering tips, but today it is an online training course for mechanical engineering candidates. It operates three different types of courses, ranging from one-off modules to full-time curriculums.

With an estimated 1.5 million mechanic engineering graduates leaving India universities and colleges each year, competition for jobs is tough but equally, with many overseas markets seeking skilled talent, there are international opportunities but many students are unaware of how to pursue them.

Skill-Lync seeks to match mechanical engineers with U.S-based Masters degree courses and/or employers directly. That’s done through an online learning course that uses video content developed alongside industry companies — the goal is to help instill employable skills and experience to students.

Students watch videos independently but come together in groups on WhatsApp to work on assignments. Course teachers operate virtual ‘open hours’ on a Friday to allow interaction with students, questions and more.

The regular courses cost $250 per unit and cover specific areas related to mechanic engineering and its application in the workplace.

Last year, some 2,500 students took part in Skill-Lync courses and while the courses are demanding, with around a 22 percent completion rate, the results are impressive for those who cross the finishing line. So impressive, in fact, that Skill-Lync is launching a new and more comprehensive course that guarantees a job at the end of it or else participants get a full refund.

Read the full article about Skill-Lync by Jon Russell at TechCrunch.