FEATURE- With automation threat looming, IT cos ramp up reskilling.
But is it enough?As need for manpower continues to shrink for traditional application and maintenance business, IT companies are reskilling their million-strong workforce in newer technologies. Developers today need to focus on full-stack programming rather than specialize in a particular technology. Full stack programmers can work on both front end and back end tech, including design.India’s USD 154-billion technology industry is in the midst of its biggest transformation ever, as automation disrupts delivery models. With clients asking outsourcing majors to bring down the costs year-on-year for the traditional application and maintenance business, vendors have no choice but to automate processes, which threaten to make 30-40 percent of existing workforce redundantAs need for manpower continues to shrink for traditional application and maintenance business, IT companies are reskilling their million-strong workforce in newer technologies. Developers today need to focus on full-stack programming rather than specialise in a particular technology.
Full stack programmers can work on both front-end and back-end tech, including design.Experts estimate that a ten-fold increase in training days per year is needed if the industry is to continue providing innovative solutions, and even this may not be enough to save all the jobs at stake.Reskilling in newer disruptive technologies is happening through in-house training or tie-ups with reskilling platforms like PlanetGanges and PluralSight. While the big vendors and Cognizant have their own internal market places on which multiple service providers plug in to offer online courses to employees, others are following the partnership model to reskill their workforce.Explains Arun Rajamani, Country Head of PluralSight, an on-demand technology learning company, "While some of the larger companies offer in-house marketplaces for reskilling, there are other external options too available today. Internal marketplaces have been created by the larger players and various vendors are present on these platforms.
For these marketplaces, companies need to offer scale of say 50,000-100,000 employees.”Smaller companies are tying up with standalone platforms to provide reskilling. PluralSight works with 300 companies in India and offers online skills upgradation programme.The one thing that employees are finding hard to come to terms with is that past experience or knowledge of obsolete technologies doesn’t matter. With technology becoming obsolete every 18 months, reskilling has to be an ongoing process.Mrityunjay Singh, Executive Director at Persistent Systems, says reskilling today is very different from training in legacy technologies. He explains: “People are struggling today as the factory model of reskilling is not working. Training today has to be in smaller nuggets/bundles. We offer courses in smaller nuggets or videos, which are available online. Personal intervention happens in smaller groups. Focus is now on full stack programming, which means developers who are comfortable working with both back-end and front-end technologies.”With billing rates continuously coming down for the traditional business, vendors are looking at doing more higher value-added projects like mobility programmes, technology platforms that enhance user experience and cloud services.
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