Excerpts from the webinar on In-demand IT jobs post COVID-19 by TalentSprint

With the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19, the entire IT industry is going through major changes. It has impacted the job market to a great extent. Students are uncertain about their career and have many queries about their future in the industry. To answer their queries, an insightful webinar on In-demand IT jobs post-COVID-19 was organized by TalentSprint on 11th May 2020. 

The webinar was launched by Mr. Sridhar K, Chief Business Officer, TalentSprint and addressed by Mr. Giridaran C, a senior professional with more than two decades of experience with a wide network of leading Educational Institutions, Industry and Government establishments.

The participants got valuable insights into the changing scenario of the IT industry and the steps taken to cope with it.  They also learned about the in-demand IT jobs along with what freshers should do to equip themselves to become industry-ready.

Highlights of the webinar

• Insights of IT industry
• Impact of COVID-19 on IT industry in India
• How disruptive technologies are the saviour in crisis
• In-demand jobs post COVID-19

Indian IT industry potential

The global IT industry is a $5.2 trillion industry. Indian IT industry is the world’s largest sourcing destination. It is the most sought after industry by high-aspiration talent as it provides employment to 4 million both directly as well as indirectly. It has the largest pool of qualified technical talent. As the second fastest digitizing economy among 17 leading economies of the world, It has added 205k jobs in the year 2019-20.

Impact of COVID-19 on the IT industry

The unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted both business and aspiring professionals going to change the future of engineering education and the nature of the jobs in the IT industry. 

• As an after effect of COVID-19, the Global GDP growth is expected to decline at 4% according to a report from Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and nearly 25 million workers might lose their jobs. 
• Work from Home (WFH) will be the new normal as per industry leaders and elastic workforce is going to move from survival to revival. Information, preparedness and compassion will keep people healthy and business running. using agility, speed, and innovation to address business continuity to serve customers while safeguarding the interests of its employees. 
• As the countries are virtually shutting down amid the rising COVID-19 pandemic, recruiters are revisiting their hiring plans. The campus hiring is going to be affected as most of the companies have decided not to go to campuses or cut down hiring from 50-80%. It also means that the students will have to try harder to improve the odds of getting well-paying jobs.

How disruptive technologies are the saviours in crisis

Employability of engineers is definitely going to change post-COVID. The major technology trends that are disrupting the job market are going to be the saviours in this crisis. The focus of IT companies in the wake of COVID will be mostly on automation. as automation ensures cost effectiveness and WFH doesn’t impact automation (since the safety and security issues, otherwise faced by people, are not taken care of through automation). The major technology trends that are going to be in-demand are

• AI and Data Science
• Intelligent Automation/Soft Computing
• Cyber Security 
• Infrastructure

In the past, an above average engineer could get a job in the IT industry, but very soon, only those with deep tech skills and programmers of high-quality will be preferred by the Industry as the number of jobs is expected to reduce drastically. Someone who is only good in Java or .Net will be finding it difficult to find a job in today’s market. Engineers need to build deep tech skills and will also be open to new trends like the gig economy to start their career.  

Strategies followed by the IT industry to move forward: To move forward without any glitches, IT companies have come out with effective strategies which are

• Seeking out the best talent irrespective of the location/ college and giving preferences to ready to deploy talent. 
• Initiative to learn new age technology will be a key selection parameter in the future
• Work from anywhere but with assured security along with the prevention of data breach and Cyber Security threats.

In-demand jobs post COVID-19

As an after effect of COVID-19 the focus on automation is going to be extremely high and the most in-demand jobs will be created in automation. Pivotal job creators post covid-19 will be AI/Data Science, Intelligent Automation/ Soft Computing, cyber security, Infrastructure. 

Job roles in AI/ Data Science: There are few job roles in AI/Data Science that are going to be in-demand. The job roles are Data Visualization, Predictive analysis, Data Management, Data Analytics, Data Architecture and Data Engineering.

Job roles in Intelligence Automation/Soft Computing: The in-demand job roles in Intelligence automation/Soft Computing are Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Digital Process Automation (DPA), Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, Quality Assurance, Mobility, and DevOps.

Job roles in Cyber Security/Defense: Major job roles in Cyber Security/Defense are Cyber Security Analytics, Privacy Management, Risk Analysis, Cyber security matrix and Security Audit.

Job roles in Infrastructure: The major job roles for future in Infrastructure are Cloud Computing, Networking, Cloud Storage, Server Administration, Internet of Things (IoT), Device Management, and Virtual Help Desk

Coding languages for the future: Python, Ruby, Clojure, C#, Matlab, Scala, JavaScript and more.

Post COVID-19 success mantra

Aware: Digital technologies are the game changers

Adapt: New ways of life with digital literacy

Acquire: Learn new digital skills to be on the race

Achieve: Health, Wealth and work-life balance

Are you ready for the future?

The future is uncertain. Many changes that happened during the COVID-19 situation are going to be permanent. Many traditional things are going to be obsolete giving way to faster technological advancement. 

Digital transformation will lift productivity and economic growth but millions of people worldwide may need to switch occupation or upgrade skills. With the trend of Work from Anywhere, we need to work with digital colleagues. 

Also read: Top 3 technology trends for engineering jobs amid COVID-19 crisis  https://nationalskillsnetwork.in/top-3-technology-trends-for-engineering-jobs-amid-covid-19-crisis/

Gone are those days when an average person with an average programming knowledge was able to get a job in the IT industry. Today’s competitive market requires highly skilled engineers. We need to upskill/ reskill and elevate our career goals. Improved communication with a good Aptitude knowledge and Critical thinking abilities will help you strive and succeed.