View from India: New job avenues in the offing

The PM’s announcement seems like a breather for the employment sector but it could also be an opportunity for those seeking employment to up-skill and re-skill their digital working knowledge. Remote working could also be part of the upcoming agenda.

Newer openings in the departments and ministries may even open up indirect avenues. For instance, collaborations with the private sector or startups for outsourcing work are likely to happen. Allied services may be required to support the ecosystem. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data analytics and automation may be leveraged for precision and accuracy in operations. Better employment options could translate into economic growth; the multiplier effect could be a move towards the PM’s vision of a US$5tn economy by 2024-2025.

Going by the announcement, the job market looks promising. According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, the labour market is indicating strong sentiments in the third quarter of 2022. When compared to the same period last year, hiring sentiments have improved by a whopping 46 per cent, while there is a 13 percentage points growth when compared to the last quarter. Companies in the IT, technology, telecom, communications and media sector report a 68 per cent increase in new hires, followed by the banking, finance, insurance and real estate sector with a 60 per cent increase.

“Despite rising inflation and the geo-political instability, there is a positive sentiment across sectors in India in a bid to speed up the recovery process and sustain the economic growth of the country. We are, however, faced with an unprecedented demand-supply gap as indicated by our Talent Shortage Survey. Reskilling and up-skilling the workforce to mitigate this gap should be the highest priority for employers as well as industry players like us,” said Sandeep Gulati, managing director at ManpowerGroup India.

In the 60th anniversary edition of the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey of more than 3,000 employers, India indicated the highest outlook in eight years. The country is ranked first in the APME (Asia Pacific and Middle East) region and third globally, 19-points above the regional average. India’s year-on-year increase is ranked first globally, outperforming the 40-country average increase since Q3 2021 by 28-points. “Growing need for digitisation, automation and tech-enabled services in our country, coupled with demand for Indian IT workforce across the globe, will retain the IT and technology sector on top of the charts in the Indian job market,” explained Gulati. 

The upcoming 5G rollout seems to have accelerated the demand in the telecom sector as well as internet service providers (ISP). Analytics and data science job offerings could be just as sought after as digital technologies and digitally empowered enterprises, e-commerce and logistics services. Contactless digital technology for financial transactions could continue to be in demand.

A lot is expected from the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS). The scheme provides a financial incentive of 25 per cent of capital expenditure for the manufacturing of goods that constitute the supply chain of an electronic product. SPECS aims to strengthen the domestic manufacturing of the electronics sector, other than generating employment.

Along with IT and IT-enabled services jobs, allied services and global value chains are spreading their footprint in India. A futuristic spin on the job market means the ability to handle social media and e-content are as essential as creative ideas, critical thinking and reasoning, and leadership qualities. A move in this direction could be the National Education Policy 2020 and the fact that it is designed to promote intellectual growth, enable value addition and focus on skill development. This could unfold better employment opportunities and enable economic prosperity.