Cloud computing, cyber security, IoT among top skills India Inc is looking to hire for biz growth

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Cloud computing, cyber security, Internet of Things (IoT) were among the top skills that companies in India and Asia Pacific region will need more for business growth, and employees to gain career growth.

An estimated 86 million more people in the region will need to undertake digital skills training over the next 3 years to keep pace with tech advancements, Amazon Web Service (AWS) and economic advisory service firm AlphaBeta said in a new report on March 22.

And 97% of firms believe digital skills training is a must for employee retention and micro courses will emerge as a game-changer to deal with the demand.

The survey said Artificial Intelligence, digital marketing, managing migration from on-premises facilities to the cloud, cloud architecture design, and software development were among other top skills to be in high demand at least till 2025.

“Advancements in cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and other emerging technologies are happening in increasingly shorter cycles, changing the nature of jobs faster than before.

"In our age of rapidly emerging technological innovations, workforces across the globe, including the Asia Pacific and Japan, are faced with the need to regularly upgrade their digital skills and know-how,” the report underlined.

Ensuring that workers can implement digital transformation successfully has thus become an imperative for employers. The survey shows that digital skills training has fast-tracked digitization goals for 85 percent of organizations in the region.

“Organizations have also experienced numerous other benefits, including improved employee productivity (reported by 88 percent of employers), cost efficiencies (85 percent), and increased revenue (82 percent). Adopting new technologies can also help organizations meet their sustainability goals,” it claimed.

As new roles emerge and skill requirements evolve, workers will need to adopt a mindset of lifelong learning and build a habit of regular training.

The survey also pointed that investing in digital skills training can help organizations improve and meet their business objectives. It underlined that at least 88% of organizations that invest in digital skills training report improved employee productivity.

Besides, 83% experienced higher employee retention and 82% saw increased revenue and a whopping 90% of the respondents said digital skill training leads to higher employee satisfaction.

Amit Mehta, Head of AWS Training and Certification AWS India and South Asia said: Digital technologies are rapidly transforming industries and organizations, delivering new capabilities in just weeks, or even days, that would have previously taken months or years. At Amazon Web Services (AWS), we have witnessed incredible growth in demand from customers for digitally skilled professionals over the past decade.”.

“This demand increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic in India as more interactions shifted online and the cloud became a vital tool for organizations to digitally transform to keep up with the new normal. The acceleration of cloud adoption across sectors has been a key factor in increasing the need for digital skills, resulting in a gap between the demand and supply of digitally skilled talent. There has been attrition and wage inflation, particularly in the 3-5 year career experience bracket as there is a need for entry-mid level cloud engineers and cloud architects. These dynamics have forced the industry to look at sourcing their need for cloud professionals over the last few years,” Mehta added.