Knowledge, innovation to be pillars of talent drive

What is India Inc looking for in potential talent to thrive in a digital economy as digitalisation is set to play a major role in driving revenue, productivity, security and innovation? Skills that combine technology and business enablement – a mix of the relevant hard and soft skill sets – are necessary to thrive in an increasingly competitive world.Two years ago, the Ministry for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) outlined the digitally enabled change that is underway in a report – India’s Trillion-Dollar Digital Opportunity. That outlines the country’s potential to become a $1-trillion digital economy by 2025. And the pandemic has further accelerated the pace of change, fuelling the demand for a new set of skills.The rapid pace of change in the technology environment has made learnability extremely important, while deep domain knowledge continues to be critical. Key skills in the digital and networked economy include data literacy, technology design, analytical thinking and innovation, and active learning.INCLUSIVE LEARNING“We live in a globally integrated world. The ability to collaborate, understand cultures, and be sensitive to the nuances of being inclusive and equitable is crucial. Thriving in the new normal calls for an agile and curiosity-based mindset, and very high levels of adaptability,” says Rajesh Nambiar, chairman and managing director of India, Cognizant.Technology is no longer just an enabler but a driver of business transformation, says Akhilesh Tuteja, head, digital consulting, at KPMG in India.The changing needs of industry have resulted in a sharper focus on talent that is multi-modal and flexible, with the ability to switch roles with ease; leverage cloud, cyber, data and intelligent automation technologies to create solutions.“We are no longer hiring people with just the right technical skills. We are hiring people who have the abilities to innovate, strategise coherently, demonstrate agility, transform businesses and themselves, leverage the new digital technologies, designthink, catalyse change and learn continuously,” says Tuteja.BEYOND THE BOXChange is sweeping across sectors. In the financial services business where digitisation is causing a paradigm shift, Axis Bank’s focus on learning and digital skill building has become broad-based. New talent pools are being accessed, and increasingly people with nonbanking backgrounds are being hired to augment skills and capabilities.“Some of the key skills that will help us include product and design thinking to understand end-to-end customer journeys. As a result of our scale, project and change management skills also become increasingly important to mobilise teams to deliver with agility,” said Rajkamal Vempati, head, human resources, Axis Bank.To meet the demand for talent, companies are not only hiring from outside but also upskilling and re-skilling the existing workforce. For Ericsson, the rapid pace of digitisation and increased focus on AI/automation have made it crucial to ensure that its workforce is ahead of the curve in embracing next-gen technology and capabilities.“Besides hiring for business-critical roles, through our ‘People at Ericsson’ framework, we have created a wide range of reskilling and upskilling programs across leadership, wellness, soft skills, technical skills and more,” says Priyanka Anand, head of HR, South East Asia, Oceania and India. According to Pravin Prakash, chief people officer, BYJU’S, the Indian job market has witnessed a complete metamorphosis in the last few months. Job roles have been continually altering and have led to the need for a new skill set amongst job aspirants. “Flexibility, critical thinking and digital skills will play a key role in helping professionals get their dream jobs,” he says. 81201287

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