Article: India as a staffing hub for the world

Talent Acquisition

India as a staffing hub for the world

According to an analysis by Bloomberg news on the UN population-projection data, India’s millennial generation is bigger than China’s or the US, which will boost the nation’s labor force to the world’s largest by 2027.
India as a staffing hub for the world

With its vast pool of skilled talent and resources and excellent language skills, India is the instinctive choice for many multinational companies. India has long been on the radar of the global who’s who in various sectors because the talent has always existed here. According to an analysis by Bloomberg news on the UN population-projection data, India’s millennial generation is bigger than China’s or the US, which will boost the nation’s labor force to the world’s largest by 2027. With China’s workforce shrinking, India is at an advantageous position to become the world’s leading provider of world-class talent. India with its huge English speaking and skilled population and their readiness to provide 24x7x365 days customer support makes it one of the most preferred choices for outsourcing. Many years back offshore outsourcing became popular, as there were a talent and cost advantage in investing in a country like India. Now the same benefits that made outsourcing a popular choice, such as experienced talent, cost-effectiveness and service quality, is nudging companies to go a step further and open captive centers that utilize experienced local talent that is on par or better than their global counterparts to develop and create solutions for their business. 

For instance, Information technology (IT) has opened a vista of job opportunities in India and there is a great demand for Indian talent skilled in emerging technologies. We also see numerous global companies setting up shop in India either through R & D facilities, think tanks, DevOps centers, labs and/or centers of excellence (CoE). These investments leverage local talent for the development of applications that have global relevance. By now, India has cemented its position as the world's technology outsourcing hub.

This trend is not limited to the technology sector. India is also a preferred market for manufacturing majors. The low cost of manpower but high quality and productivity of the workforce is expected to make India a favorable place to manufacture. Large companies have expressed confidence in India’s ability to drive growth and flourish in manufacturing. Many multi-nationals are setting up manufacturing hubs and factories in India.  

Yet again, the tendency to invest in technology talent goes far beyond the IT sector. Retail sector is another such beneficiary. Nasscom reports that out of 25 Fortune 500 retailers, about 10 have set up technology shops in India and smaller retailers are following their larger rivals. If they are not setting up their own captive units, these retailers are working with Indian IT companies to outsource services. 

Another trend worth noting is how major corporations based in the U.S or Europe is spending monies to acquire smaller start-ups and companies in India and thereby obtain full access to the talent and expertise that they require. 

Today, we see Indians in senior leadership roles in the corporate world globally and it proves that we have in-house talent that can be nurtured and prepared to meet the capabilities required to work in a global market. Indian executives possess traits that are in high demand for global roles. They are multifaceted, quick to learn and adaptive. They also tend to be more eager to embrace challenges and adapt to new cultures.

India enjoys crucial advantages that have put it on the global staffing map. It has a vast engineering workforce, a burgeoning start-up scene, and an increasing smartphone penetration which means that data is available to more people each day. 

Today, India is one of the largest global markets with a talent pool that cannot be overlooked. More and more global companies are giving importance to Indian talent because the diverse experience gained working in India prepares a person for the global market. With new and upcoming industries, the demand for newer talents has gone up. Each year we witness freshly created job titles such as ‘data scientist’, ‘machine learning engineer’, ‘experience architect’, ‘IoT engineer’, ‘digital marketing specialist’, ‘security consultant’ or ‘user experience designer’ which are fast gaining traction in various industries. However, these new emerging hybrid roles need technical skills with systems expertise in the chosen domain. And there is a shortage of skills in these sectors, leading IT companies to invest in upskilling by opening training centers of their own. Those who invest in re-skilling and training at these centers are prepared to face the global market in the future.

When more and more young people get access to quality and affordable education and skill training, it will not take India too long to become the leading supplier of global talent.   The Indian government and companies need to focus their energies on recognizing the skill sets that are required in the future and train the country’s young population so that they acquire the necessary skills, thereby increasing their employability. This will help narrow down the gap in the supply-demand balance of the job market.                             

There are more than 10 staffing firms in the country with a turnover of more than 1000 crores and around 20,000+ recruitment companies in India. Such huge numbers are increasing the awareness on the benefits of staffing in India, to large corporates globally. Moreover, given a large number of people entering the workforce, it’s not surprising that India is being looked at as a source of greater revenues by global search agencies which have a presence here. 

(Know more about what's next in TA at the People Matters Talent Acquisition Conference 2019 on 29th May at Mumbai. Click here to register.)

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Topics: Talent Acquisition, Staffing Recruitment, Talent Management, #PMTAC

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