LinkedIn Says, Indians Hit By Fast Pace Of Changing Skills
While eight out of 10 Indian professionals feel that the skills needed to succeed are changing rapidly, nearly half of (45%)Indian employees left organizations because of lack of Learning and Development (L&D) opportunities, in a recent LinkedIn survey.
The ‘Future of Skills 2019’ report for the Asia Pacific region also identifies the top 10 rising skills that have seen exponential growth in the past few years.
The report, based on member skills data across 13 countries in the region, takes a deep dive into employees’ readiness to tackle the future workforce and how L&D professionals are responding to skills transformation.
Rising skills in India and APAC
While employees and learning experts, both, have recognized the need for learning, 60% of employees in India feel that time is the most significant barrier they face in pursuing their L&D goals, while 37% feel it is the cost factor that acts as a hindrance. From organizations’ point of view, 46% feel lack of engaging learners act as a barrier to deliver successful L&D programs, while 44% of organizations admit that adapting training for younger employees is a challenge.
Below is a list of the 10 rising skills in the Asia-Pacific region.
From the above list, it is clear that rising technology skills can be used to forecast where industries are going, the evolution of job roles, how companies are adopting technology in their traditional offerings, and areas to develop in-house talent to get them future ready. One such area is the gamut of soft skills, as human intervention will be at the core of driving all new technologies. In fact, critical thinking has emerged as the most sought-after skill in the age of AI and automation. The LinkedIn survey also states that 61% of Indian professionals believe that soft skills are needed for career progression.
Rise of non-tech skills
As traditional industries go through digital transformation, tech skills dominate the list of rising skills, but non-tech skills such as Social Media Marketing, Compliance, and Human-centered Design also stand out. In India, the top three skills that are witnessing a rise are Robotic Process Automation, Compliance, and Continuous Integration. The report also states that the demand for talent with rising skills is three times more than the rest of the talent base.
“The research points to how talent drives business, and skills drive talent today. Certain skills are becoming less in-demand as different skills are needed to succeed, therefore upskilling talent is key for organisations to meet their business goals. Paying attention to skills is also crucial in recruitment, as previous job titles may not always be an accurate measure of a professional’s capability and adaptability strengths in this new world of work,”said Ruchee Anand, Head of Talent Solutions and Learning Solutions – India at LinkedIn.
“Building a robust learning and development culture at the workplace will also help organisations remain resilient and navigate the talent crunch. Companies should also think through how they can help employees learn at a comfortable pace, and tackle some of the barriers such as time and cost,” added Anand.
