Skill-Gap - The Tech Industry’s nightmare

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), India is staring at a 29-million skill deficit by 2030. To bring you a little closer to the present, data shows that owing to the skill shortage, 53 percent of Indian businesses could not recruit in 2019-20. This is because, in the job profile of IT development operations manager, 63 percent of openings remained vacant due to lack of skill-sets.

The needs of the Tech Industry 

To deliver better solutions, the tech industry needs to induce diversity in everything it does. It is not just about mixed thought processes, culture and genders but knowledge, skills, and agile abilities needed by employees in information technology industries. The IT industry requires qualified graduates with the right mindset, attitude and soft skills to be able to deliver top-notch results. Skill training is missing. 

The current situation  

India’s demographic profile shows that the youth will comprise the majority of the population. They will thus become the source of employment to the global economy. Moreover, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India (Social Statistics Division), has confirmed that India has the edge over other countries with respect to the distribution of this very youthful population. Being the most significant asset, it also needs pruning and developing to achieve its potential. Lack of this activity is one of the key reasons for the increasing skill gap in India. ‍

Unemployment is not the issue. Unemployability of the human resources is.

The skill-gap

It has been increasingly difficult to find and hire qualified and skilled individuals that meet their requirements, so much so that growth has taken a hit. The reason is not due to lack of business opportunities but lack of the right talent and skill to drive the business. If this continues, most industries (with the IT industry taking the lead) will face 75-80% skill gap issues. Without skill training, it can be estimated that only 20% of the population will be deemed fit to win available jobs. Employability is more than likely to sink further.

Why the skill gap?

The persistent disconnect between the supply of capable graduates and the demand for the skills of an organization continues. IT decision-makers say that the skill gap exists and continues to grow because technology changes exceed skill development programs rapidly. The lack of investment in skill training has been the elephant in the room for years, and it is starting to appear to the eye. 

The growing skill gap and its consequences 

It is not just client deliverables and business growth that get impacted, but employee morale too. A decrease in quality of work hurts employee confidence, and it becomes a vicious cycle. Low confidence leads to reduced work quality. 

In time, it has been realized that while the rapidly changing tech landscape is partly to blame for the skill gap, it is also about the lack of supplementary skills that widen the divide. This includes industry-specific soft skills & software engineering expertise for job readiness. This presents a difficulty for organizations to grow and maintain a competitive edge because the workforce lacks the skills to drive businesses forward.

The IT Industry’s nightmare

Technology is the driving force behind the scope of this industry. This is a demanding market in play, with technology playing a critical role in every industry and every aspect of life. Tech isn’t one size fits all. Providing job training for the candidates delays productivity, and it is both time as well as cost consuming. Paving the path to business growth, the IT industry is currently facing its biggest nightmare yet - challenging roles that stay unfulfilled. 

byteXL - The Solution to Unemployability 

byteXL, a self-learning platform, determines the needs of the IT industry and ensures that colleges and universities are on the same wavelength to satisfy these needs. The educational sector needs to listen to the changing and evolving demands of the job market. Keeping this in mind, byteXL identifies job clusters along with the competencies required for each role. This establishes the priorities of the various skills and talent required to supplement the qualifications provided by the universities and colleges. Based on the results, personalized strategies are developed to meet market needs and job roles.

byteXL’s differential value proposition is its contribution to the student’s growth during their college years. Understanding their development from the first year of college and grooming them with the right soft skills to bring out the best in them is critical to them graduating job-ready. 

byteXL understands that hiring based on just one test might not be sufficient to test the true capabilities of the candidate. By being part of the growth journey, byteXL puts together a personalized schedule to suit the student’s career aspirations as well as job market needs. When this skill shortage is handled, the pool of capable potential candidates in the market increases, giving the IT industry the luxury to pick precisely what they need to grow. ‍

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