Dude, where’s my job?

Trump, Brexit, Demonetization, Populism, Protectionism, Automation. To say that the times are exciting is truly an understatement. And if I look at the millennials, this period is the most unstable, exciting, and unpredictable era of all times. In this chaos and a highly volatile socio-economic and political landscape, everyone certainly wonders about their own job security. And I guess, one has to wonder because the way businesses are done and jobs are allocated is changing drastically. India, being home to the world’s youngest population, not having enough employability growth can be daunting, however, now, the question arises, do we really have to worry about the lack of jobs or is this the best opportunity for this generation to up-skill?

The Economy in our home turf
Most of the economic growth in India is driven by the increase in labour productivity rather than employment. This scenario of ‘jobless growth’ in India is being dealt by initiating skilling and Make in India and adding 100 India International Skill Centre, and setting up 600 Kaushal Vikas Kendras which is a significant move towards making India job ready. Initiatives like these is definitely a step in the right direction, but we need more vigour to make it work towards the main goal- employability.

The world around
The election of Donald Trump has put the IT industry in a fix by proposing restrictions on H-1B visas and insisting IT service providers to hire more US citizens. Not only will it affect IT companies financially, the employees will lose out on the opportunity to work in more mature markets like US, and bring those learnings back to India.

The fast evolving IT landscape
Artificial Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation, and Internet of Things aren’t a sci-fi movie anymore. It is a reality that’s facing us. One reads, that as per industry experts, about 80 per cent of IT jobs and about 30-40 per cent of finance and accounting jobs in India will be eliminated by automation.
Panic? Anxiety? Restlessness? Am I losing my job? Will I be unemployed? These are questions that one must one’s own self. The answer thankfully, isn’t just blowing in the wind, it’s right here.

So don’t worry about losing your job; Re-Skill and get out of your comfort zone
The whole new wave of automation is bound to push the workforce to adapt to technological advancements. A lot of companies are training their employees to reskill them as skills required for the ‘new jobs’ are not taught in colleges. In the last few years, a plethora of jobs have surfaced like SEO experts, content marketing managers, medical and banking technology specialists etc. Such kind of work did not even exist a decade ago, but are now being successfully pursued and contributing to companies’ revenues. It was heartening to see the focus on the World Economic Forum this year on this whole aspect of Re-Skilling. If though leaders want businesses to thrive, then such discussions (which ultimately would lead to action) are critical

The bottom line? As the world is moving ahead and companies are adopting new ways to improve efficiency and cut costs, it is the millennials’ time to step up and learn new skills in order to create their own niche and therefore their new identity. It is definitely a disrupting start to the uncertain future. The need for engineering colleges and B-schools to revisit their curriculum in order to bridge the gap between what is required in the industry and what do these institutions currently offer is what the system requires. The focus area should be more towards enhancing high level thinking skills, creativity, machine learning, and communication. Employability will certainly drive the future of India, but we need to be well equipped to lay a progressive foundation for jobs ahead. Now is the best time to prep up and act on it rather than making it a cause of national worry.

(The article is authored by Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, APAC & Middle-East)