Layoff: How tech-driven processes are improving job security across industries

Today, the world economy is staring at a period of turmoil as two global giants, namely China and the US, have locked horns in a trade war. The fallout of this ongoing economic conflict is now visible on various markets – including India – and is promoting conservative outlook amongst businesses. Cognizant, which has 70% of its workforce in our nation, is going to layoff around 5,000 to 7,000 mid-to-senior level employees. Similar measures are being taken by other businesses including HP, HSBC, and others.

This is when Indian economy is already facing strong headwind because of its auto sector. It has resulted in around 100,000 job losses in the past couple of months and further 500,000 are expected in the upcoming quarter. So, it is barely a surprise when a CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy) report indicates the nation’s unemployment rate is highest since 2016. As a matter of fact, it is 1.3% up from what it was back in September 2019, reaching 8.5% in the month that has just passed.

However, there is a silver lining in the cloud for India. Our nation can become the epicentre of global growth revival and emerge as the go-to destination for stressed investors. Bring the nation’s largest pool of youth, socioeconomic dividend, and fast-emerging digital market into the picture, and tables start turning around. Still, this will require a targeted approach wherein everything from job creation to skill development have a pivotal role to play.

Thankfully, several tech startups and their methodologies are bringing about a positive change on this front. Here are some of them:

Cybersecurity: The burgeoning global digital infrastructure requires skilled cybersecurity professionals to address the prevailing vulnerabilities within the IT domain. However, the irony is that around three-fourth of the global organizations are currently experiencing cybersecurity skill shortages. It is also difficult to train or upskill a professional due to the sheer dynamism of the sector and fast-emerging technologies (hence, new attack vectors). Usually, cybersecurity professionals get trained through ‘Baptism by Fire’ or, in other words, while facing a real cyberattack. Students, on the other hand, merely get bookish knowledge which is both incomplete and largely irrelevant by the time they enter the job market.

Here, solutions like Cyberbit’s Cyber Range are proving to be a game-changer. They create a hyper-realistic environment with simulated network architecture of a particular organization. It enables the in-house teams to experience a virtual attack without risking the IT infrastructure. Such solutions are also finding their way into educational institutes, thereby adding considerable value for the student entering the advanced segment.

Education Sector: One of the biggest challenges that India today faces is to train the massive pool of youth that it has. Surely, teachers have a critical role to play in this development both in the short-term and the long-term. The challenge over here is that there are limited technological tools available for teachers to discreetly observe a class. There is also no standardization in CPD (Continuous Professional Development) of teachers. In this scenario, avant-garde solutions like ONVU Learning’s LessonVU, a tech-driven teacher training and self-reflection program, are bringing a positive change. For instance, LessonVU’s lesson capture, observation, and self-reflection-based approach enables teachers to bridge the gaps in their pedagogical training and experience targeted skill development. With the perfect confluence of technological features (including Data analytics and Artificial Intelligence), it comes across as a comprehensive solution for proficiency building of the teaching community. The best part is that such solutions have visible impact from Day 1 and gradually improves the class performance.

Data Analytics: Today, data has become the new oil and gold for businesses. For the uninitiated, we will be generating 463 exabytes of data daily by 2025, which is equivalent to creating 212 million DVDs per day. This industry development is enabling organizations to use this rapidly increasing data to make informed decisions and drive efficiency enhancement for across-the-board processes. It is the reason why Big Data industry, which clocked $8.5 billion market size back in 2017, will grow more than four-fold to reach $40.6 billion by 2023. The fast-emerging market and the professionals operating in it can unlock new avenues for India by spearheading a comprehensive data-driven growth of the nation.

Nevertheless, the organization of exponentially generating data is not easy and neither is understanding its relevance. Certain approaches like Qlik Academic Program are enabling Indians to learn data analytics skills with much ease. The free-to-use online program perfectly aligns concepts of data mining, programming, and database management at the academic level. It further equips a person with product-agnostic Data Analytics and Data Literacy certifications. Similarly, SkillUp Online and its certified courses for data science curate cutting-edge training programs for aspiring professionals. Ultimately, they are making our nation’s youth well-prepared for a sector that is destined to transform everything from economy to business processes forever.

Entrepreneurship: Both growth and job creation go hand in hand with entrepreneurship. However, a free enterprise cannot thrive in the absence of credit. Several NBFCs and lending platforms are working on this front to eliminate the credit gap that various industries face today. Vivriti Capital, India’s largest online credit platform for institutional clients, has created a marketplace platform to make funding easily accessible for businesses. It directly lends to both businesses and NBFCs (which then lend to businesses) via different models including credit disbursement, investment banking, and consultancy for strategy formulation, new business launches, due diligence, liabilities management, risk management, transaction advisory, etc. It helps in the all-round development of the market as well as various verticals present in it. This is while also infusing capital across different industries and empowering them to avail the predominant business opportunities more seamlessly with its technological expertise.

In the light of recent turn of events, it is a prudent measure to intensify such tech-driven approaches and upskill our youth as fast as we can. India stands at a crucial juncture in terms of market and is eyeing better job creation and double-digit growth rate. Perhaps, this is the perfect break to drive the same change for the global economy.