In the digital age, tech skills such as robotics and automation makes a huge difference. Read on to know more…
In the digital age, tech skills such as robotics and automation makes a huge difference. We are in the fourth Industrial revolution and two apparently divergent trends of increasing automation combined with a projected global slowdown, appears to be squeezing the job market and is all set to change the very nature of jobs and skill requirement. The shrinking share of labour in the GDP, the weakening investment along with sharp deterioration in manufacturing and global trade, and the rapid pace of automation are ‘shortening the shelf-life of employees’ skill sets.’
According to World Economic Forum (WEF), by 2020, more than a third of the desired core skill sets of most occupations will be comprised of skills that are not yet considered crucial to jobs today. It is projected that by 2022, more than 45% of the workforce in India would be either in new jobs that do not exist today or in jobs that require radically changed skill sets, as per an EY report on ‘Future of Jobs.’
New Jobs
New job roles that may dominate respective sectors in the near future include data analysts / scientists, AI research scientists, cloud architects, VFX artists, automobile analytics engineer, machine learning based cybersecurity expert, apparel data analyst/ scientist, e-textile specialist, robot programmer, customer experience leader, retail data analyst, digital marketing specialist etc. to name a few. These suggest a range of technical skills.
The emerging requirements pose a severe challenge to the education system which essentially calls for a multi-disciplinary approach with flexible course designs, aimed at enhancing the innate talents and inculcating an enquiring mind. The rapid pace of technological advancement would also require possibilities for continuous and life-long learning and re-skilling opportunities.
Here are a few tech skills and values that will become imperative in the near future.
Creativity in AI: There is no substitute for this quality in age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and automation. With most mundane and routine jobs automated, the only way humans can retain their employability will be by their innovative and creative thinking. The ability to think into the future, create new ideas and implement them will require out of the box thinking.
AI driven machines may well learn to think, but that is based on past experiences and data, whereas creativity requires one to use information of the present, imagine a future and then develop products and technologies to get there.
Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity, with its zero percent unemployment rate, tops this list. About 65% of organizations have a CISO (Chief Information Security Officer). This number is expected to grow to 100% by 2021. Cybersecurity Ventures says by 2021, 3.5 million cybersecurity jobs will crop up. Currently, cybersecurity professionals earn an average salary of USD 110,899 a year. In the years ahead, this number is expected to grow multifold.
Blockchain: Between 2017 and 2018, blockchain jobs rose by 300%. Hired says the global demand for blockchain professionals shot up by 517% during the last year. The average salary for blockchain professionals is USD 84,884 per year, 61.8% greater from the median salary USD 52,461 for other IT professionals.
Internet of Things (IoT): The Internet of Things is soon becoming an internet of everything. Gartner predicts 20.8 billion devices will be connected by 2020. This explosion of connecting devices is getting harder to contain. Gartner in its 2017 report said three-fourths of IoT projects will be stalled or will take twice as much time to implement because of the talent dearth. The demand for IoT related job roles soared by 48.8% in the last quarter of 2018 and is expected to rise further. The Industry’s valuation is expected to reach USD 45 billion by 2020.
