About 97,000 analytics and data science positions vacant

Chennai: Close to 97,000 positions related to analytics and data science are currently vacant due to a dearth of qualified talent. A majority of these job openings are for junior level roles.

The number of unfilled positions has seen a whooping increase of 45 per cent over last year indicating the widening talent gap in the industry, finds a study by online ed-tech company Great Learning.

Around 70 per cent of the 97,000 job openings this year are for candidates with less than five years of experience, an increase of 8 per cent over last year. Opportunities for freshers have also increased with openings for them accounting for 21 per cent of analytics jobs, compared to 17 per cent last year and 31 per cent of the job openings are for professionals with over five years of experience. This year, companies are boosting entry level hiring in a bid to create a talent pipeline, keeping with the long-term vision of building deep expertise in the space.

“A 45 per cent increase in the supply gap in just one year indicates the pace at which businesses are adopting analytics and data-based decision making. In the last few years, many large players have been forced to acqui-hire talent to keep the wind in their sails. At the same time, for those looking to enter the sector, a surplus of jobs is a great opportunity. The need of the hour is for professionals to re-skill themselves and get job ready,” said Hari Krishnan Nair, Co-founder, Great Learning.

Bangalore accounted for 24 per cent of total analytics jobs, Financial centers like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai have increased their share with Delhi/ NCR contributing 22 per cent of analytics jobs, Mumbai 15 per cent and Chennai 7 per cent. According to the report, the median salary being offered for analytics jobs in India is Rs 11.5 lakhs/annum. There has been an increase in the number of analytics jobs offering more than Rs 15 lakhs/annum.