Changed employment status: emphasis on automation

In the first six months of June this year, the country's top 10 information technology (IT) companies hired 1.50 lakh employees, the highest in the last five years, according to a recent report. Employment in IT companies is expected to rise further as global companies increase their investments in digital. The Corona epidemic has resulted in a strong increase in demand for software services. Digital usage has increased and will continue to increase. In the last 20 years of economic liberalization, the share of IT sector in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) has increased from 0.50 per cent to 9 per cent.

The revenue of the top IT companies is also expected to double-digit growth in the current year. With the increase in workforce, the demand for workforce, especially skilled manpower, is likely to increase in many sectors, including IT. There were also reports that IT companies were offering employees other benefits with higher salaries to get a skilled workforce. During the Corona period, it was the turn of unskilled workers to lose their jobs and the demand for skilled workers increased. Most of those who have lost their jobs in the last 12 months of Corona's tenure are urban unorganized workers. With the recovery in the economy some of these unorganized workers are finding employment while others are still looking for employment. Corona has changed people's way of life as well as their way of working. Digitization has increased in many areas of the country.

While the skilled workforce is benefiting from digitization, the position in areas other than IT is not encouraging for young graduates who lack sufficient skills. They need skills along with education to get employment. It is becoming difficult for graduates or post graduates without proper training to find a place in the job market.

In view of the changes taking place in the employment sector, it is time for the government to redesign their training programs. According to a 2016-17 report, only 2.7 per cent of India's total workforce was skilled. Five years later, the figure has not changed much. The Government of India has set up a number of training programs and institutes since independence to bring in skilled manpower with the Industrial Revolution, but India cannot keep pace with the pace at which the world is moving forward and our training programs continue to be very old or weak globally. .

Many initiatives like National Skill Development Corporation, Skill India, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana have been undertaken in the last one decade, but this initiative falls short in view of the changing needs of industries. The implementation of these programs requires the participation of state governments and local level organizations. However, local level organizations have their own agendas and development programs, which are a barrier to employment-oriented schemes.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the second largest employer in India after agriculture, but compared to large companies, MSMEs do not have sufficient resources to train their employees, so they have to look at a skilled workforce. About 8% of MSMEs in India are unorganized, providing employment to 25 million people. Most of these units work with a maximum of five to six employees who are not skilled enough, according to a World Bank report. In today's Corona era when the method of work is changing and the presence of MSMEs on online platforms is increasing, today's demand is to provide training to the employees in this field.

More than 60 per cent of enterprises want a skilled workforce to increase productivity in their units, the report said. There is also an increase in profits through a skilled workforce. The biggest loss for an unskilled employee is on the wage front. The pay scale of an employee with adequate training is relatively higher than that of an unskilled workforce. It is difficult to say at this time what kind of employment will be created and what kind of trained manpower will be demanded in the next Corona, but one thing is for sure, there will be an increase in the demand for skilled workforce in the technology sector.

Demand for IT professionals has almost doubled in the last 18 months as most global businesses turn to digitization and automation of operations. In view of the changed employment situation, in order to understand the present and future picture of automation in various sectors of the country, it has become necessary to study in detail as well as to estimate the technical skills required due to automation.