As companies increasingly digitize their work processes and demand for technological solutions grows, digital skills will only get more mainstream. Increasing investments by global MNCs are expected to amplify the rising demand for talent, thereby further widening the demand supply gap.
The digital skills gap is at an inflection point and companies have already started facing a new challenge in a digital first world. There are just not enough people with the right digital skills to fuel companies' digital transformation strategies. The decisions companies make now around how to solve the digital skills gap will echo for future generations.
The World Economic Forum estimates that 54 percent of employees will need significant reskilling by 2022. And while many companies are adopting reskilling or upskilling, it hasn't proved to be as feasible and smooth as transitioning in fresh digitally skilled workforces.
As we move along, there will be fewer roles that accept talent without any digital training, and even employees with considerable technical training will be needed to continually upskill employees in keeping up with the pace of innovation.
It is against this backdrop that boardroom conversations are beginning to focus on reskilling. Implementing a well defined reskilling and training plan, with specific emphasis on entry-level jobs will provide the necessary acceleration to India's emerging technology growth strategy.
To meet the demands of the future workforce, training from early years' education through to retraining programs for people well into their careers is vital to ensure the digital skills gap does not restrict organizations' growth and clutch the global economy. While expanding training to meet soaring demand is a challenge, it is also a unique opportunity to diversify the talent pool. Organizations can embrace this opportunity and reap the benefits of a more diverse and more skilled workforce.
