Skill India

Indian businesses grapple with rising tech and talent shortages.

Indian businesses are finding it difficult to keep up with the speed at which technology is developing and the increasing difficulty of providing their employees with the training necessary to stay competitive. According to a recent survey, organizations are prioritizing upskilling and workforce enhancement as a means of achieving continuous development in the face of these obstacles in 2024.

The online learning platform UNext and HR media platform People Matters released the "SkillScape 2024" study, which outlined important developments in corporate learning and development (L&D) practices in India. According to the survey, an astounding 82% of businesses express unhappiness with publicly accessible courses because they feel that employees are not sufficiently prepared for responsibilities that need them to work on projects.

55% of businesses see data science, analytics, cybersecurity, and IoT as essential for managing the complexity of a volatile, unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment in response to the increased demand for technological skills.

Finding and nurturing talent in next-generation technologies is still a major challenge; according to the survey, 72% of organizations find it challenging to locate qualified specialists. The emergence of new work types is aggravating this skills deficit; according to 50% of employers, these occupations will change the skilling landscape.

Furthermore, 60% are giving skill development top priority in order to support tech-driven reforms.

The survey also pointed out that just 20% of businesses routinely evaluate staff skills, which leaves workers susceptible to skill obsolescence in the face of the urgent demand for agility. Frequent reviews are necessary to maintain current knowledge, foster innovation, and fully utilize emerging technology.

Post-training evaluations perform better; 68% of businesses carry out assessments to calculate return on investment (ROI), but many are still unprepared for evaluations by outside parties.

Seventy-one percent of businesses are looking to Tier-1 university certificates in their quest for effective skilling. These collaborations draw in top talent, increase the value of training initiatives, and advance a continuous learning culture.

In an effort to promote greater information retention and prompt skill application, several businesses are experimenting with work-integrated learning programs (WILP), which combine formal education with practical application.

Organizations that depend on in-house subject matter experts (SMEs) for training have difficulties with employee retention. Building long-term capacities will be hampered over time by the reliance on SMEs, which will lead to sustainability and scalability problems.

Priorities for leadership development also became apparent, with 61% citing organizational agility and change management as critical skills. In order to remain competitive in the rapidly changing IT industry, the research promoted the use of work-integrated learning programs and frequent skill tests.

According to the research, while companies attempt to overcome these obstacles, the emphasis is still on creating strong learning and development plans that keep up with technology developments and guarantee a workforce prepared for the future. Standard Business.