India is suffering from a serious shortage in IT professionals across pretty much all the sub-domains of the IT sector which includes the likes of – Cybersecurity, Banking, and high-tech. job roles such as in Artificial intelligence and Data Analytics. Dhananjaya Tambe the Chief Information Officer of State Bank of India, stressed in a report published by Times of India “We have invested in world-class technology, but we need people to make use of it,". As the demands for AI-driven technology and Data Analytics grow at an exponentially fast rate, shortage of skilled IT workforce posits a serious threat to the functioning of stakeholders and projects of National interest.
Skilled IT professionals are needed who are adept in AI and Data Analytics for a host of industries, especially those dealing in finance. The Banking sector in India has been incapable of hiring talent from the IT field. The main reason for the shortage is the gap between skills and demand that the Indian IT sector is witnessing.
There is a shortage of around 140,000 skilled techies for total jobs of around 500,000, spread across all the verticals across the IT sector. The situation is so depressing that according to Chief Executive of National Association of Software and Services (NASSCOM), the apex body representing the country’s IT Industries – Around 50 percent of the IT professionals need re-skilling in the IT sector. It is estimated by NASSCOM that the industry will face a shortage of 230,000 skilled workers in tech. related jobs by 2021.
The Cybersecurity sector is the worst hit with around 59 percent of the organizations having vacant positions. One of the principal reasons for this predicament is the lack of investment by educational institutions in offering courses related to Cybersecurity. According to reports published by Project Management Institution (PMI) and Anderson Economic Group, there are plenty of job opportunities in the IT sector within the 11 countries it studied and based its report on. These countries include- China, India, United States, Brazil, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and U.A.E.
This talent gap will take years to fill the shortcomings. Universities are pumping out graduates every year for the sake of it and not at all focusing on developing the necessary skills required in today’s competitive as well as demanding job market. Some industry experts are proposing outsourcing candidates as a viable short-term solution to the pertaining issue. It should not be taken too negatively as this is a great time in history for the upcoming youth to invest in developing valuable IT skills because there will be a huge demand in the future for skilled IT professionals.