Skill Up: Empowering the Global Workforce through Transformational Blended Learning
The world of professional training is often stuck between two ineffective extremes: the rigid, high-cost classroom model and the low-engagement, self-paced e-learning "pendulum." JPS Kohli, the Founder of Skill Up Technologies, recognized this broken paradigm after 27 years in the industry. Today, his platform, **SkillUp Online**, is pioneering a "Middle Path" that combines the flexibility of digital content with the unshakeable necessity of a human touch. From building India's largest tech web store in 1999 to serving as a Worldwide Director at **Microsoft**, Kohli is now leveraging his massive enterprise network to transform how the global workforce prepares for the future.
Kohli's journey is a masterclass in industry authority and adaptive innovation. Starting at **NIIT** in the CD-ROM era, he navigated the aftermath of September 11 by turning tech teams into profit centers and later spent a decade at Microsoft reshaping their global online training strategy. In 2016, he left the corporate comfort of Seattle to launch Skill Up, an organization that has since become a preferred partner for **IBM, Microsoft, and the US Department of Defense**. For Kohli, the mission is simple: don't just provide content—provide the support system that drives real career outcomes.
The "Middle Path" of Learning
Traditional corporate training is deep but limited in scale. Pure e-learning is scalable but suffers from a lack of motivation—only 4-5% of self-paced learners actually finish their courses. Skill Up's "Blended" approach integrates human mentorship with online flexibility, creating a support system that mirrors the peer pressure and guidance of a real classroom.
A 27-Year Legacy: From CD-ROMs to the Cloud
JPS Kohli is a storyteller with a professional history that tracks the evolution of the Internet itself. He began his career at NIIT, developing "Computer Based Training" (CBT) delivered via physical CD-ROMs. By 1999, he was already a CTO, building India's first and largest B2B web store for IT products, featuring a catalog of over 15,000 items from Cisco, IBM, and Lenovo.
After September 11, when the markets crashed, Kohli demonstrated his entrepreneurial grit by turning his 250-person technology team into a profit-generating services center. This grounding in P&L management led him to Microsoft, where he spent 10 years growing their Indian training team from scratch and eventually leading content development globally for all commercial training products. His work at Microsoft Learn and his launch of Microsoft courses on edX laid the foundation for the direct-to-learner strategies the company uses today.
"Entrepreneurship makes the favorite word 'AND,' not 'OR.' I want high quality AND on-time delivery AND profit AND a happy team. You have to work backwards from those goals and live by your decisions, good or bad."
The Birth of Skill Up: Preaching and Practicing
After a decade at Microsoft, Kohli reached a point of reflection. He realized that "one size doesn't fit all" in education. He launched **Skill Up Technologies** as a transformational learning organization. Initially starting with consulting, his massive network allowed the firm to quickly become a vendor for Microsoft, IBM, and Lenovo.
"We were lucky in the early days because our network gave us quick, long-term contracts," Kohli admits. But he didn't want to just "preach" learning transformation—he wanted to practice it. This led to the spin-off of SkillUp Online, a dedicated training platform focused specifically on "Future Skills" like AI, Data Science, and Cybersecurity, combined with essential soft skills for the virtual workplace.
The Skill Up Enablement Roadmap
- Curriculum Design: Collaborating with partners like IBM and Microsoft to map content to official certification standards.
- Blended Delivery: Integrating human "Success Coaches" into the digital learning path to maintain high motivation levels.
- Global Centers: Operating out of Seattle (HQ), India (Execution), and a new European center in Portugal.
- Future Skills focus: Emphasizing IoT, Cloud, and Generative AI, but always paired with collaboration and virtual relationship management.
Riding the AI Wave: Innovation Over Displacement
Kohli view the current AI disruption as a shift similar to the move from typewriters to computers. While some roles will change, the automation of repetitive tasks allows for faster production and deeper creativity. "AI is not going to displace the worker; it is the AI-equipped worker that is going to displace the one who doesn't understand it," he asserts.
Skill Up has been delivering AI and Data Science courses since 2016, long before the current hype curve. They now use Generative AI internally to overcome "writer's block" during content structured design, allowing them to launch new, relevant courses faster than larger mass-market competitors. Their focus remains on the "human skills element"—the ability to collaborate and manage relationships in a virtual world where cameras and digital avatars are the new interface.
Skill Up: Global Impact (Jan 2026)
- Global Presence: People working across 35 cities worldwide.
- Strategic Partners: Authorized partner for Microsoft, IBM, Google, and VMware.
- Remote Excellence: 80% of the US team operates remotely, outside the Seattle HQ.
- Fulfillment Reach: Training enablement rolled out across 140 countries.
- Retention Rate: Significantly higher than industry average due to a "respect-first" culture.
Founder's Wisdom: Hiring for Attitude, Retaining for Respect
With a workforce spread across 35 cities, Kohli has mastered the art of distributed leadership. His hiring philosophy is simple: the past is the best forecast for the future. He ignores the "stature" or "chip on the shoulder" of candidates from top consulting firms, focusing instead on detailed questioning about how they behaved when things were going wrong.
"We talk a lot about culture fit and attitude," he says. By allowing for flexibility—some of their early hires were part-time temp workers who have now stayed for 8 years—Skill Up has built a loyal engine. Kohli believes that as a founder, the buck stops with you, and you must have the humility to accept results that don't always land the way you expected.
JPS Kohli's Guide for Emerging Founders
Maintain Flexibility: You may see the road for 200 meters, but you don't know the full road to the peak. Be ready to retrace and adapt when you hit a ditch.
Embrace the "AND": Entrepreneurship is about delivering on multiple conflicting goals simultaneously. Don't settle for "Either/Or."
Be Genuine: Speak your mind. If a philosophy doesn't work for you, say so. Employees and customers see through "fluff" very quickly.
The Future: Reaching for the Stars
For JPS Kohli, the biggest reward of entrepreneurship is the act of creation. From his "accidental" start in 2011 to leading a 500-person global operation today, he remains energized by the thrill of changing how people work. As Skill Up continues to scale its Portugal center and expand its future skills catalog, it stands as a testament to the power of returning to basics—trust, hard work, and a human support system—in a high-tech world.
In the world of technology training, JPS Kohli isn't just teaching the future—he is building the support rails that ensure every worker has a fair chance to reach the stars. As he concludes his interview: "You have to live by your decisions... and keep the hunger to stay foolish and keep learning."
About the Guest
JPS Kohli is the Founder and CEO of Skill Up Technologies and SkillUp Online. A 27-year veteran of the learning and training industry, JPS has held senior leadership roles at **NIIT** and served as a Worldwide Director at **Microsoft** for over a decade. He is a recognized authority on instructional design, transformational learning, and cloud-based training delivery. Based in Seattle, Washington, he has built a global reputation for bridging the gap between corporate requirements and learner needs. He is a passionate Storyteller, a mentor to youth, and a dedicated advocate for future-ready workforce enablement.
Skill Up Technologies is a global learning and transformational organization specializing in technology training and workforce enablement. Through its platform, SkillUp Online, the company provides high-impact, blended learning solutions in partnership with global giants like Microsoft and IBM. With a focus on future skills such as AI, Cloud Computing, and Cybersecurity, Skill Up helps professionals across 140 countries achieve meaningful career outcomes through a combination of expert-led mentorship and flexible digital content.