Which would be the growing industries and skills to look out for in the coming Quarter?
The year 2020 is going to be remembered as a distinct year because of the paradigm shift it has brought to the world. Every element of the ecosystem has seen fundamental changes, especially business operations and jobs which have changed drastically. While on the one hand, many industries witnessed a slowdown resulting in a drop in employment opportunities, many sectors, on the other hand, in the essential goods and services categories, like Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, E-commerce, EdTech, Manufacturing – Steel, Chemicals, FMCG, etc continued to grow and many opportunities were also created in these industries. Impact due to budget announcements, four sectors emerged as the high performing sectors.
Pharma: With healthcare being a key focus area (post COVID), not just in India but across the world, pharma sector is expected to grow. With the anticipation that 60% to 80% of the global population will get vaccinated this year; it is giving huge scope of P&L for pharma companies, Indian pharma companies as suppliers will also get some portion of that. Hence, talent acquisition in this sector is expected to gain good traction, at least for the next few quarters.
EdTech Sector: With growing advent of high speed and smart phones, the IT/ technology and the EdTech sector was already on the rise. COVID 19 had increasingly led to organizational requirement for digital transformation, requirement for IT network infrastructure enhancements to enable for work from home. Consumers now prefer to transact virtually through apps or online, instead of physical transactions. All of this has led to development of new age technologies, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16% and will set the beginning of multi technology transformational phase. This will automatically increase the IT/technology skill requirement and hiring requirements in organizations.
Steel: Over the years, domestic steel companies have focused on import substitution as well as for export promotion. PLI scheme extension to specialty steel gives more push to this objective. Under the PLI scheme, coated products, high strength steel, steel rails and alloy steel bars and rods are included. The scheme would also be instrumental in helping domestic companies increase their manufacturing capabilities and developing new products. With key applications in areas like automobiles, railways and their supplementary services, the skill demand in these areas is quite evident to grow and open opportunities for employment.
Chemicals: This sector can also provide a very good option for growth as global investors are moving out of China and now eyeing on India as a potential market. India’s global market share in this sector has gone up, which indicates a great future in chemical business. Many large chemical companies are investing in expansion of capacity. Chemical stocks too have rallied significantly in the last few years, making it one of the most lucrative sectors that will grow.
While on the one side, industries re-invented their business or market, the skills which employers looked out for also underwent a shift. The pandemic made a lot of companies realize the need to have professionals with advanced and specific skill sets. Organisations prefer and will continue to opt for candidates who are agile and creative. The Covid-19 pandemic has defined a new era which has accelerated the adoption of digitization as organisations across the globe reimagined the business models and working patterns to maintain continuity. The future workforce will be also expected to work from home, will require to be digitally savvy but will have to work hard on social skills to encourage team work and group learning. Again, to reiterate, this year pushed technology adoption by 4X and this is going to largely shape the future of skill requirements as well.
