The year 2000- the dot com bubble was the word in industry circles. Almost two decades later, the sheen still seems to be present on one of the most happening industries, the information technology sector. However, even as it is all rosy on the exterior, there are several issues plaguing the IT field.
One of which is the steady loss of jobs. No, we are not talking about the 2008 recession. This time it is different, something that has not got to do anything with human error. It is automation.
Surprised? The following fact will offer a reality check.
“A recent report by HfS, a US-based research firm, predicted that India's IT services industry will lose 6.4 lakh 'low-skilled' jobs to automation in the next five years”.
This, by any margin, should sound a death knell for those involved in these low-skilled or basic services.
But why is a majority not skilled enough? While we shall analyse this later, the consequences are far more important. One of which, apart from job loss, is the yawning gap between employment and employable.
As is the case every year, this time too, companies attempting to recruit freshers on and off campus, have struggled to select candidates who are ‘employable’, which translates into those who have the adequate skills required for the job.
While we earlier stated that due to automation, the ones in the lower rung will face the axe, it is not entirely this category that will be affected. The executives in the mid-level too might suffer, as a result of this.
But there is a catch, not all of these professionals might have to face the perils of automation.
Only those who have not equipped or upgraded themselves with the latest technical knowledge or skills, will have to face the music.
The HfS report points to a similar trend, anticipating that while process-based jobs will perish, the industry will see a 56 per cent increase in high-skilled jobs. Areas which will see lucrative pay packages are big data, analytics, machine learning, mobility, design, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence.
Industry experts say this is not to indicate that the situation is all that bleak in this day and age of automation.
Some of the diverse fields that are actually in need of skilled professionals, are research and development, banking, financial sectors, e-commerce and the like.
Similarly, the positions that, in the coming days, will be digital marketers, designers and data scientists.
As a report in the Times of India says, the third category of data scientists revolves around “Big data analysis calls for knowledge of computer science, analytics and statistics skills, strong communication skills, and a working knowledge of business intelligence tools”
Another sector that is likely to escape the automation noose, is the one that has IoT as its basis.
This, Internet of Things, which is actually a proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.
This theory is validated by the Times of India report, that says, “Experienced people with profiles such as digital marketing expert, marketing technologist and solution architects, who have both business and technical know-how and are able to align the two, will be in high demand. Areas like mobile application, cloud computing and IT infrastructure risk analysis and security will stay relevant for a long time”.
All said and done, the trick to continue staying employed is to expand one’s horizons at the learning level itself. Do not wait for the company or educational institution to impart you technical knowledge, it is out for you to learn and equip yourself. Only then will you be able to survive the threats of automation or any other factor in the coming decades.
