Demand for IT-BPM professionals to double by 2020: Nasscom
Demand for professionals from India's IT-BPM industry is expected to grow more than two-fold to 4.2 lakh by 2020, as against 1.90 lakh in the last fiscal year, according to a report by industry body Nasscom.
"The net demand for talent in FY13 stands at an estimated 1.90 lakh professionals. Assuming an employment growth scenario of 9 per cent, the demand for talent is expected to be more than double at 4.20 lakh by 2020," the report, titled 'Talent Supply and Demand', said.
The report was released on the concluding day of the three-day Nasscom Leadership Forum in Mumbai.
Noting that the domestic IT-BPM industry is going through challenging times as far as the demand for talent is concerned, the report said, "It is still recovering from the aftershocks of the economic downturn of 2009."
"However, if employment grows at 20 per cent, a number that was being projected frequently 5-6 years ago, the demand could be more than 7 lakh."
"As India transitions to become a knowledge-based economy, it requires a new generation of educated, skilled and talented workforce. This report will address key issues of employability, by generating efficient workforce functions, employment opportunities, increase productivity and drive innovation and growth in the country," Nasscom president R Chandrasekhar said.
According to the report, the annual supply of engineers is estimated to be at 7 lakh in the previous fiscal year.
Nasscom observed that the expected growth rate in hiring, though substantial, will be slower than the growth in revenues of the industry.
While the industry's revenues are expected to grow at 12.8 per cent annual compound growth rate, the same for employment is likely to be at 8.6 per cent, it said.
Earlier this week, the apex industry body, while projecting better times ahead, had forecast a 13-15 per cent rise in exports to around $99 billion in the next fiscal year.
Also, the small and emerging companies will have a share significant share in the increased talent demand, the report stated.
"These companies will be the key drivers for demand in the current economic scenario of uncertainty," it said.
The domestic IT-BPM industry comprises over 5,000 firms, of which top 11 companies employ a third of the total workforce.
"Interestingly, over 4,000 of these small companies contribute to over 10 per cent of the industry's revenue but employ 15-18 per cent of the total workforce," Nasscom said.
Stating that the country needs to harness the available talent and enable its youth to build it as the skills factory of the world, Skills Council director and chairman of media & entertainment sector and actor Kamal Hassan said, "This report will encompass all aspects of skills required for the industry and how this demand can be filled by creating a steady pipeline of market ready manpower."
The report aims at standardising and streamlining the process, both for hiring as well as training and to facilitate a 'job ready' and 'market ready' scenario, Nasscom said.
