The recent debate around moonlighting in the IT industry has highlighted the growing demand for skilled talent in the ICT sector. The global shortage for tech talent has been fuelled amid the rapidly changing technology landscape.

Companies are looking at leveraging the best of tech talent to not only improve user and client experience but also for exploring new growth avenues.

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With companies considering an appetite to skill and learn to be a highly desirable trait among employees, skilling focused start-ups and organisations are rapidly coming up to bridge the gap.

Rishi Khemka, Founder and CEO, MindBox India, a leading STEM Accredited organisation dedicated towards creating functional literacy in 6-18 years old students said that “As the world changes, the need for skills changes too. With technology being at the centre of everything in the future, kids today will need to develop competencies and skills around this space which shall help them excel in whatever profession they choose.”

“At present, 90 per cent of the jobs are skill based and we should aim at developing a range of future skills across domains such as AI, ML, drone technology, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, electric vehicles, 5G technologies and mechatronics to improve the employability quotient of India’s vast young population,” Khemka added.

Skilling will help the youth in bolstering their CVs with knowhow of new technologies.

Vikram Kumar, co-founder of career platform MyTat said that, “The advent of new-age technologies has changed the overall hiring landscape in India. This has created a substantial talent demand and supply gap across key tech domains. There’s a need to ensure relevant skilling opportunities so that youngsters can harness their true potential through adequate skilling, upskilling and reskilling avenues.”

MyTat has collaborated with AICTE to provide AICTE-approved internships/apprenticeships for youngsters as well as professionals. “81 per cent of individuals who have enrolled with us for professional development have reported career benefits like increment, promotion, increased pay, etc,” Kumar added.

As telcos in India gear up to launch 5G services, it will not only give us faster communication networks but will have a cascading impact on multiple other sectors which need fast, low latency, reliable networks to function. This will in turn lead to a surge in demand for skilled talent.

Arvind Bali, CEO, Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC) said that the rollout of 5G in India will lead to adoption of new-age technologies across sectors, “and it is crucial that the graduating population is skilled and made job-ready”.

“TSSC has curated courses in cutting-edge technologies like drone technology, 5G, AI/ML, etc. and has established numerous Centers of Excellence and training facilities across the nation to cater to this demand,” Bali noted.

As companies look at future growth-engines they want talent which helps them stay ahead of the curve. The need for future skills has never been felt as much in India before as now, with multiple disruptive technologies impacting everything from banking to pharma to manufacturing and more.