Learning & Development: From grassroots to global leadership
The influence of technology has changed attitudes and outlook toward Learning and development both among organizations and among talent
The second largest service segment of the industry, learning and development services is witnessing tectonic shifts, driven primarily by demand for more skilled manpower in the corporate sector. The learning segment in India comprises learning at all levels, from school education to corporate training. As such, it is difficult to arrive at an accurate estimate of the size of the industry. From information gathered from global studies and interviews with industry experts, People Matters estimates the size of the industry to be worth approximately Rs. 7,000 crores in India.
The demographic composition of the workforce is dramatically changing, with more personnel from the rural sector and tier II cities entering the organized sector. While it is widely recognized that a very small percentage of academic courses in India churn out professionals who are fit to join the corporate workforce, the last 5 years have seen a large number of corporations hiring professionals at the grassroots level and grooming them per their requirements.
The influence of technology has changed attitudes and outlook toward learning and development both among organizations and among talent. In the coming times, the emphasis on leadership and management development, technology, and specialized training at the grassroots level will shape the direction of learning and development services in the country.
Substantial opportunities exist in government partnerships and many service providers will be looking to reposition their business model to tap the huge potential market. Sanjeev Duggal, CEO at Centum Learning, highlights that in the five year plan, the government has allotted Rs. 35,000 crores, for learning and skilling. With the penetration of end-user devices and social media growing at an unprecedented pace, spending in learning and development technology will see significant increase. Vinay Kumar, Director and Principal Consultant at C2C Consulting, highlights that with increasing globalization and M&A activity, organizations are likely to increase spending in leadership learning, technical training, and cross-cultural development to meet their demand for global and technical leadership. Sureish Nathan, Vice President & Managing Director (Asia Pacific) at Center for Creative Leadership, believes that the APAC market presents significant expansion opportunities as the market is more mature and there are opportunities for cost arbitrage.
The service industry lacks qualified trainers and the talent shortage is one of the most significant challenges that CEOs of L&D companies face. Vinay Kumar highlights that there are only 10 Certified Global Facilitators in India, out of which 6 work internally in companies. The lack of certified professional trainers in India can potentially hinder the growth and maturity of the market.
Some industry experts believe that the slowdown has in fact, affected the industry positively because this has given organizations the opportunity to rationalize their workforce spend and invest in L&D. With the government policy fuelling changes, the L&D industry in India has a positive growth outlook in the coming months.