NEW DELHI: Top tech recruiters are increasingly looking for people with expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science, according to online job portal shine.com. The latest report by the jobs website notes that IT professionals need to upgrade their skillset in order to take up roles in data science, AI and cyber security.
Shine CEO Zairus Master said that with cutting-edge technologies including AI and machine learning (ML) becoming more and more integral to business operations in the IT/ITES sector, the demand for professionals with evolved, tech-led skillsets will only increase further in 2019.
“Expertise in areas such as data compliance and cyber security will also be much sought-after, given how critical data privacy and information security have become in the global business discourse. I also foresee organisations collaborating with reputed online learning to undertake large-scale upskilling and reskilling of their in-house talent. This skills-centric approach will benefit both the employers and the employees; while recruiters will be able to seamlessly address the growing demand for skills within their organisations, professionals can access significantly better career opportunities by upgrading their existing skill sets. With rapid technological advancement paving the way for a high-growth, high-value jobs ecosystem, we can expect continuous learning, unlearning, and relearning to become the motto of the new-age workforce,” he said.
Meanwhile, Manufacturing and BPO/KPO sectors were also among the most active recruiters in 2017 and continued to hold top positions in 2018 as well. Widespread technological uptake in the BPO/KPO sector has made for increased job creation and this trend is bound to continue in 2019 as well, the report said.
In 2019, more jobs are expected to be created in tier II and III cities majorly because of manufacturing plants being increasingly set-up in these areas, it added.
The rise of Fintech firms, mobile wallets, and numerous payment apps has also ensured a steady growth of the BFSI sector, which will also retain its spot in the highest job-creating industries in 2019. Emerging industries that are displaying an increase in hiring in 2019 also include education and healthcare. Numerous tech startups in these two sectors were launched in 2018, propelling growth and job creation in 2019 as well.
In an interesting development, a significant acceleration in hiring was witnessed across previously sluggish industries such as engineering and construction, which entered the top 10 list in 2018. According to the report, increased hiring across the engineering and construction domain in tier-II areas can be ascribed to infrastructural advances.
Top metro cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai have retained their dominant positions as the regions with the highest talent demand. However, emerging cities such as Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad also staked their claim as regional job hubs, having performed exceptionally well in terms of hiring in 2018, according to the latest report by Shine.com, an online job platform. IT sector, Hyderabad broke through into the top five cities for hiring in the past year. According to the report, the growth trend witnessed across tier-II cities can be attributed to the sprawling FMCG/consumer durables, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, and energy and renewables sectors in these geographies.
In terms of functional areas IT/Software, Customer Service, Banking and Finance, and Production emerged as the top functions in 2018. As an increasing number of organizations embrace technology to boost growth, IT/Software has become the most sought after job role across industries. Furthermore, an increase in startups in the Fintech sector has led to unprecedented growth in the BFSI industry. As India progresses towards becoming the world’s youngest workforce, the production sector is receiving a significant boost. In fact, India is projected to become a manufacturing hub over the next few years. This has led production and manufacturing to become one of the leading functional areas hiring professionals in 2018.
“In 2019 and beyond, we are expecting to see the top hiring cities including Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi to retain their top positions. However, we would not be surprised if Tier II cities such as Indore and Jaipur take prime positions over the next few years. Furthermore, it is heartening to see the education and training sector picking up pace, as professionals gear themselves up by picking up new skills for technologically-advanced job roles emerging across IT and non-IT sectors alike,” Master said.
As industries continued to gain scale on the back of increased technological deployment, a steady increase was seen in hiring across Sales and Business Development functions as well in 2018.
Additionally, with more and more professionals focusing on upgrading themselves for new-age job roles, the education, training, and language sector registered a significant uptick in 2018 as well. Industry experts are anticipating accelerated hiring across all current high-growth domains in 2019. These future trends, without a doubt, will be majorly influenced by large-scale technological uptake and the changing nature of jobs across all industries.
Courtesy: TOI