As the demand for tech talent continues to rise with the growth of the digital industry, skilling models are evolving. Nasscom and the government’s FutureSkills Prime program, which offers free and subsidized courses, have been mentioned in previous articles. Currently, the platform provides free courses such as AWS’s Cloud Practitioner Essentials, Adobe’s UX Foundation, Intellipat’s Web Development Foundation, and many others.
Private training course providers are also adopting a similar approach. Great Learning’s Academy initiative and Simplilearn’s SkillUp platform are offering hundreds of free courses, ranging from basic to advanced levels.
The objective is to attract individuals to these new digital areas so they can become familiar and comfortable with them. Even if only a small portion of these individuals go on to take paid courses, which often include hands-on lab experiences and personalized instructor training for better career prospects, it is sufficient to sustain private enterprises.
Previously, potential learners would inquire about courses but would back off upon seeing high prices, such as Rs 50,000. Krishna Kumar, founder & CEO of Simplilearn, mentioned this during a recent webinar. Hari Krishnan Nair, co-founder of Great Learning, stated that young professionals, including final year students, recognize the importance of acquiring new skills in data science, cloud, and full-stack development. However, university-backed postgraduate programs are often lengthy and costly, making them a misfit in terms of products. This is why the Academy program was created, and it now has 2 million learners worldwide, with the majority coming from India.
Nasscom and industry leaders believe that this is precisely what the country needs to become a force in the digital world. Amit Mehta, head of AWS training and certification for India in Amazon Internet Services, referred to a study conducted by AWS earlier this year, which projected a 34% CAGR in the demand for cloud architecture design skills between 2020 and 2025. The study also identified CAGRs of 27% or more in skills related to software operations support, website/game/software development, large-scale data modeling, and cybersecurity during the same period.
Digital roles are not limited to engineers and technologists. There is also a strong demand for professionals from humanities and non-tech backgrounds, who can take up roles such as digital marketer, data analyst, and business analyst.
Kumar emphasized the high growth potential of digital marketing, which involves attracting attention through digital channels and writing compelling content. Nair debunked the myth that a statistics background is required for roles like data scientist, data analyst, and business analyst. He stated that an analytical mindset is all that is needed, and their courses cover the basics of statistics, mathematics, and relevant techniques.
Mehta highlighted the potential for professionals in the banking and finance industry to build successful cloud careers by utilizing their domain expertise in areas such as fraud management, business resilience, compliance, and regulations. By taking courses such as Cloud Financial Management (CFM) and Cloud Practitioner Essentials (CPE), individuals can acquire the necessary skills for these roles and contribute to the industry’s growth.
Tech careers are not limited to technical roles; management positions can also be a gateway to the industry. For example, becoming an agile project manager involves streamlining project timelines. Projects that previously took months or years can now be completed in just weeks.
Another option is becoming a product manager. This role is especially prevalent in industries such as fintech and neobanks. Product managers are responsible for building large-scale tech products. They need to understand user needs, design the product accordingly, and determine the necessary features. While technical knowledge is not a requirement, critical thinking skills, an eye for design, and strong logical abilities are essential.
