Technology is shaping the Indian job sector and enabling almost every sector to transform while creating new jobs at every step.

Technological advances have constantly innovated the job sector, giving rise to millions of new jobs, especially in the IT industry across India. According to the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) research, the future is set to see another three million new jobs in the IT space, catapulting India’s tech army to reach 7 million by 2023.

The new-age jobs are envisioned to spawn in emerging technology areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), big data, blockchain, Augmented Reality (AR), and data science, among others. While these technologies add greater efficiency to enterprise operations by reducing human hours and increasing productivity levels, the new jobs also call for skilled professionals adept at handling digital tools, which most Indian enterprises apparently lack at present.

The on-going transformation in the job sector has also raised concerns for Indian masses, especially among the labour community. It is observed that robotic automation has emerged as their biggest worry as it significantly replaces low-skilled jobs, mainly consisting of simple assembly tasks. Automation is anticipated to execute over 40 per cent of such jobs across the world in the coming years, as per the International Labour Organization (ILO) report.

There is also an indication that automation can be a massive blow to women employees, majorly in the sectors like retail, business process outsourcing, and textiles. Since these sectors comprise more women workforce than men, automation can turn out to be a significant drawback for women employees.

On the contrary, digital technologies are also bringing a barrage of benefits to people across the country. Mobile learning, for instance, is significantly flourishing in India, providing affordable, accessible and quality education to a huge populace in the country. These digital learning platforms are giving people instant access to several learning programs to study subjects that interest them. One just needs a smartphone with an internet connection to carry the entire world in their pocket.

Similarly, with platforms like LinkedIn, it has become so easy for recruiters to post jobs, conduct interviews and eventually absorb talents as per the enterprise requirements. From a candidate’s point of view too, social media has emerged as a great job searching platform through which they can stay updated about multiple job roles and successfully seek an opportunity to work in their dream organization.   

Clearly, technology is shaping the Indian job sector and enabling almost every sector to transform while creating new jobs at every step. For instance, the logistics industry is rapidly transforming by leveraging digital technologies like AI and ML, thereby pushing employees to upskill themselves every now and then to stay relevant in their jobs.

Likewise, when speaking of healthcare, the sector is already doing miracles by integrating robotics with medical practices. This upgrade has brought significant improvement in the precision scale and ramped up the success rate of surgeries. Leveraging other advancements like data analytics and big data, professionals in the healthcare sector are now able to store and analyse patient records anytime, which otherwise was a pressing concern for patients a few years ago.

The telecom industry is also banking on newer opportunities created by digital technologies. Although it is true that the industry is also witnessing job losses in the present landscape, it is predicted that it will produce 14.3 million new jobs in the upcoming decade, says the Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC). But again, it will be imperative for professionals to continue enhancing their existing skill-sets, matching up with the industry pace and requirements.

In the automobile sector, AI and IoT are the biggest digital tools to bring large-scale transformation, augmenting vehicles with high-tech concepts from connected-mobility to self-driving cars. While the industry is at its nascent stage when it comes to leveraging these technologies, the future is set to be a completely connected world. This will again need professionals who can handle such innovative technologies and bring concepts alive in the real world, giving customers innovative offerings like never before.

E-commerce is another segment, which is experiencing the advent of technological innovations at a rapid pace. From online shopping to digital payments, players in this pace are consistently striving to create and offer seamless customer journeys while keeping their preferences and changing trends in mind. The government is doing a laudable job in terms of protecting customer data; according to the Srikrishna Committee’s draft data protection bill, for instance, several e-commerce players are hiring tech-savvy experts to perform the job. To meet this growing demand, professionals too, need to keep re-skilling themselves.

Emerging technologies have also made a significant positive impact on banking and financial institutions. Currently, there are so many banks that are associating with fintech companies to enhance their traditional mechanism and replace it with digital technologies to cater to the digital-first customers. To offer such quick services, banks need professionals who are excellent in technological skills and can perform such tasks in a jiffy.

This transition, in the wake of digital technologies, clearly shows that the future holds much greater potential to create new job opportunities for the existing workforce in India. However, at the same time, it will be critical for them to frequently update themselves and quickly adapt to the changing digital environment to give their best in their respective domains. To make this possible, several companies across India conduct weekly/monthly training sessions for their employees to help enrich skills and improve overall performances in the organization. Many of the have already started investing in learning management systems by collaborating with skilling firms and online learning platforms. By aligning their talent retention and acquisition strategies with business strategies, organisations are ensuring that they are well prepared to take the global digital disruption head-on without diminishing the value of the country’s human capital. The future indeed appears technologically-driven, where being digitally skilled will not only become a factor to excel but a necessity to survive too.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house