Here’s why an Indian techie needs to be multi-skilled

The Indian IT industry has, off lately, seen a number of companies resorting to layoffs, which is why software professionals with three-eight years of experience are increasingly afraid about their job security.

To escape the worst, these techies are now focused at adding multiple skills to their kitty, which has resulted in a rise in the demand of courses from e-learning companies like Upgrad, Skillsoft and Simplilearn. These companies are offering courses in specialised areas like analytics and product management.

"Professionals with management profiles are shifting to product management. We have doubled the number of batches to keep up with this demand," Mayank Kumar, co-founder, Upgrad, told ET.

Skillsoft, which is a digital learning platform, started to see applications from early birds over five-six months ago.

"Those with over five years of experience, i.e. mid-level executives and project managers, are taking up courses in UI/UX (user interface/experience), machine learning, artificial intelligence and micro service architecture. Cyber security is another sought-after course," said Vinay Pradhan, CEO, Skillsoft.

Similarly, Simplilearn, has seen a 43% rise in the number of working professionals from key metros in the last one year, especially in categories like digital marketing, data science, and sales force.

"Professionals are not secure about their jobs anymore because of the recent layoffs. However, this environment is providing a big opportunity for lakhs of white-collared professionals to move out of their comfort zones and upskill themselves to remain employable. Automation and digital transformation has created an adapt-or-perish scenario. It's an alarming reminder that re-skilling is the only way out to be relevant," said Krishna Kumar, founder and CEO, Simplilearn.

Industry experts are of the view that professionals concerned about career stagnation are looking forward to up-skilling and cross-skilling.

"In today's fast changing business context, it is important for professionals to focus on continuous skill building. The good news is that there are plenty of resources available online, be it in the form of Massively Online Open Courses or specialised open enrollment courses," said Rajiv Jayaraman, L&D expert and founder of KNOLSKAPE.

(Image source Pine Tribe)