Why such a shortage of skilled hands in IT?

The last two years were difficult for employment as well as for corporate companies. Companies' offices were either closed or partially opened during the lockdown period, while most employees worked from their homes. Now that everything is in place, the work environment has also started to change. While qualified employees are changing jobs in search of better pay and working conditions, there is a shortage of skilled workers. According to a recent survey, 88 percent of IT firms are facing a shortage of qualified employees and a lot of difficulty in retaining them. A survey by a startup called Scalar revealed that 56 percent of IT companies feel that their industry is short of skilled and experienced hands. In the last few months, the annual rate of quitting from the IT sector has increased to 30 percent. Due to the increasing use of digital technology, the demand for IT professionals is increasing in the Indian markets. Employment opportunities are being created in technology, healthcare, e-commerce and manufacturing sectors. The job opportunities in the field of IT are much more than one can imagine. The way experienced and qualified professionals are in demand in the IT sector, qualified candidates are not much in supply.
 
To prevent employees from leaving their jobs, many companies have made up their mind to increase the salary and allowances of their qualified workers by up to 30 percent. According to a survey, 60 percent of the companies in the country are working on the plan to recruit new employees between the first quarter of the new financial year i.e. between April and June. A similar proportion is for companies that intend to increase their salaries to retain their qualified employees. The percentage of such companies is also around 60. One may ask, what happened that there was a sudden shortage of skilled workers in the IT sector? Actually, this is happening due to the rapid pace of progress in this industry. Startups are growing fast in the country, because the government is promoting startups and the number of unicorns has also increased. Due to these reasons there is a shortage of skilled workers.
 
Preparations are underway to make India the world's largest startup hub. At present, India is the third largest country in the world in this regard. Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in Abu Dhabi that India aims to develop the world's first largest startup ecosystem. For this, emphasis is being laid on synergy of investors and budding entrepreneurs. India is a country of 440 million youth. Such a huge young population does not exist in any other country. These include those who are born between 1981 and 1996. In US lingo, they are called Millennials. There is a need to make technical education accessible for them. Meanwhile, the process of issuing advertisements for recruitment to 20,000 government posts in Punjab is in the final stages. The Aam Aadmi Party government took this big decision as soon as it came to power, which is being praised. The number of unemployed in the state increases by more than one lakh every year. In such a situation the decision of recruitment is going to give relief.
 
(Writer is a senior journalist & columnist)