India's preparedness for the future of work

Abstract

India is one the largest economy and workforces in the world with a population of 1.3 Bn people. With the growth in digital technology, there is a 360-paradigm shift in the way business were conducted be it manufacturing sector or service sector. The growth and development owing to technological development has created endless new opportunities, mainly in-service sector. Moreover, service sector being the most labor-intensive sector can drive the job creation in the economy which can act like a boon for countries like India which enjoys demographic dividend1 . Hence, it is very important for India to realize the demographic dividend to generate employment in non-agriculture sectors and work towards upgradation of skill levels of the present and yet to join workforce. The objective of this report was to study, analyze and evaluate the current job landscape prevailing in India and how it would transform in the near future taking into consideration various technological advancements that we are making on a day-to-day basis. To gain an in-depth knowledge of job opportunities in India, states with the largest contribution to the GDP were selected and studied. From the study it was identified that some of the industries like BFSI, Retail, Education etc. have a huge growth potential. Hence these industries were studied further. From the analysis, one notable idea emerged. There is a huge growth potential for skilled and semiskilled workforce in India. Many of the minimally skilled jobs would disappear or will become obsolete. Even though there is a huge upsurge in the amount skilled and semi-skilled jobs, Indian workforce is not in a shape to make use of that. The short-term strategy to tackle this problem would be provide more training infrastructure for the workforce in respective industries. Standardized and formal training would help the workforce to gather more knowledge and skills and grow along with the industry. Moreover, appropriate training opportunities would act as an incentive even for an entry level worker for his career growth. Hence, the transformation would begin from the very bottom of the pyramid. Also, remaining a minimally skilled labor is not an option anymore. It is a question of survival. Government has the ability to do a lot of impactful work in this direction. In fact, Government of India has started many initiatives to equip with workforce with knowledge of the present. For instance, Skill India program was launched by The Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship in order to align three major aspects – Academics, industry and job aspirants. The Government of India (GOI) has revised its skill development agenda taking into consideration the various changes that is happening in the industry for example, automation, blockchain, AI, & ML etc. Around 20 ministries, 2 national level agencies, 35 state skill development missions and several Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) are working towards running 70+ schemes for skill development. The government has released various schemes to impart vocational training to over 400 million people by 2022. Programs like Udaan which is public private partnership program that aims to train the youth workforce of Kashmir, can be implemented across the nation. As a long-term strategy for solving the problem we need a complete overhaul of the education system. Often the academic content and technical education is not matching the ground skill requirement. Industry leaders should work hand in hand with educational institutions to develop curriculums that matches the industry requirements and would benefit the students when they are working professionals. Many of the technological advancements are not yet part of the school curriculum. Schools are teaching a completely outdated curriculum. This needs to be changed. School curriculums should be updated frequently to make sure that the students are aware of the advancements and the opportunities that it creates. In the future, online learning is going to grow tremendously. These e-learning platforms can also be used as a tool to reduce the skill gaps. In addition to the content that they provide supplement the classroom learning, they can also provide vocational training to the people that would be relevant in the future. Technologies like AR, VR can further increase the effect of the learning experience. Also, there is huge disparity in terms of opportunities that urban and rural areas can offer. India’s heart lies in its villages. Hence, it is absolutely crucial that training infrastructure and other facilities should be made accessible to the rural population as well.