Big Data

Demand For Data Scientists In India Up By Over 400 pc: Study

Data Scientists

Companies are increasingly using data science capabilities to build the next set of products which will be highly personalized and dynamic. Businesses across verticals have been sitting on enormous quantities of data over the years, in forms such as customer, partner, and internal data. Most large-scale businesses are now analyzing billions of rows of transaction data and transforming how they use their ERPs and CRMs for a lot more than mere record keeping. With all these developments taking place in the enterprise universe, the demand for Data Scientists has shot up by 417% in the last one year, according to the 2018 edition of Talent Supply Index (TSI) by Belong.

The Talent Supply Index is a benchmark metric to help companies foresee and measure talent acquisition efforts for critical jobs in the technology sector. The TSI 2018 edition took into consideration a randomized sample set of over 1.5 million jobs spread across the last two years in India along with 5,00,000+ candidates. As Rishabh Kaul, Co-Founder, Belong explains, “If the TSI 2017 data proved that we are in a candidate-driven market, the 2018 numbers should be a wakeup call for talent acquisition to adopt data-driven and a candidate-first approach to attract the best talent.  If digital transformation is forcing businesses to adapt and innovate, it’s imperative for talent acquisition to reinvent itself too.”

Companies can no longer solely expect candidates to apply to them and should invest in going ‘outbound’ to have a greater chance at attracting this scarce talent,” Kaul added.

Here are some of the key findings of talent supply index:

 The data science explosion: The TSI for data scientists dropped from 0.7 in 2017 to 0.2 in 2018. The demand has shot up by 417% while the supply has only seen a 19% increase. Companies are now dedicating significant budgets and teams for R&D in India. While companies like Boeing and Societe Generale are investing in startup accelerators for emerging technologies, Bosch, Mastercard, Panasonic, AirAsia and Maersk, among others, are setting up innovation centers. 

– Security hiring is heating up: The TSI for Security Engineers dropped from 0.4 in 2017 to 0.3 in 2018. Banking and financial services contributing to nearly 35% of the demand, which has increased by 120% while the supply has been able to match up by only 14%.

– Crypto craze spurs demand for Blockchain developers: 2017 saw a meteoric rise in new blockchain companies. Businesses are looking for people with strong fundamental Java/Python/Javascript skills coupled with basic understanding of blockchain relevant algorithms, and either Ethereum or Hyperledger. With TSI for blockchain hovering around 0.5, the next best option is to find the fastest learners who possess the base skills.

– Average job tenure drops by 30%-35%: There’s an increasing need to focus on retention as senior technology talent is showing signs of increased flux. Engineering managers and architects are moving jobs more frequently and the average tenure for these roles has dropped by 30%-35%.

–  Diversity still a distant dream: The diversity numbers for tech roles still paint a grim picture with female representation being at an average of 12% across roles. Cloud Architect has the worst gender diversity numbers at 6.4%.

“AI and Data Science are at the crux of transformations that are happening across a range of functions – from finance and HR to sales and marketing. Businesses can either invest early in the transformation to stay competitive or risk becoming irrelevant eventually,” Said Umang Bedi, President, Daily Hunt.

Abdul Jaleel, Vice President, Employee Experience, Adobe India, said, The advent of AI and Data Science will force businesses to rethink traditional organizational structures and processes. Data Science is increasingly becoming a business-critical function, paving the way for a company’s future. In view of this, developing data science capabilities and attracting such talent is one of the top-most priorities for a business today.”ent market for the job is supply-negative. 

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