The number of people employed in the information technology (IT) and business process management (BPM) workforce will grow by 7 percent in 2022-2023 as close to 300,000 job opportunities are to be created in the sector, according to a report.
Moreover, the demand for digital skills will grow by 8.4 percent by March 2023, TeamLease Digital said in its Digital Employment Outlook Report for the first half of 2023. Based on-demand drivers and
hiring scenarios in the past two quarters, the recruitment firm has identified 15 skills likely to lead the way in the India IT-BPM industry in the current fiscal year.
“Digitally skilled professionals are paid a notch above the developers working with traditional IT skills. In FY23, at least seven out of 10 IT companies will be searching for these digital skills to hire from emerging locations,” the report said.
According to the TeamLease Digital report, recruiters are looking for the below-mentioned 15 skills, with MarTech and IoT being the two new additions.
| Skills | Skills assumptions | FY23 growth indicator |
| E-Commerce | Tech and product development in e-commerce talent pool in India. These numbers are FTE numbers in e-commerce players and do not include vendor numbers | 5-10% |
| Data Engineering | Talent pool who work on Data Modeling, ETL, Database Engineering, Analytics, Data Warehouse, Data Lakes, Visualization, etc. | 4-6% |
| Data Analytics | This includes data cleaning, analysing to draw insights using BI & advanced analytics tools Data science – Python, R programming, ML, Apache Spark, Apache Flink, Apache Kafka, SAS | 6-10% |
| Data Visualization | Tableau, PoweBI, Qlikview | 4-6% |
| RPA | Automation Anywhere, UiPath, Blue prism | 6-8% |
| Full Stack Development | Front end + Backend DB + API/SOA + Cloud + Microservices & DevOps | 8-10% |
| Data Science | Includes Statistical Modeling, Machine Learning, Data Mining, Unstructured Data Analytics, and Natural Language Processing | 4-6% |
| Cyber Security | Cyber security area includes forensics, SIEM, vulnerability assessment, Threat Intelligence, InfoSec, Endpoint, Network Security, Encryption Tools, Web Vulnerability, Network Defence Wireless, Packet Sniffer, Antivirus Software, Firewall, PKI Services, Managed Detection Services, Penetration Testing | 4-6% |
| Cloud & DevOps | This includes Cloud implementation (40%) & support pool (60%) - AWS, Aure, GCP, Docker, puppet, checf, Jenkins, Splunk | 6-8% |
| Mobility (Mobile App Development) | iOS, Android, and Mobile Application Development, Testing & Support pool | 6-8% |
| Artificial Intelligence | All Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, and Cognitive areas considered | 5-7% |
| Machine Learning | ML tools include Tensorflow, Scikit, Pytorch, Knime, etc | 6-8% |
| UI/UX | Angular, React, User research/experience, Wireframing, Prototyping, Adobe XD, Figma | 5-7% |
| MarTech | Advertising & Promotion, Content & Experience, Social & Relationships, Commerce & Sales, Data, Management | 5-7% |
| IoT | Device hardware, device software, communications, cloud platforms, cloud applications | 4-6% |
| Source: TeamLease Digital's 'Digital Employment Outlook Report' |
Moreover, the report said that digital skills talent is prominently available in emerging locations, thanks to the work-from-home model.
TeamLease Digital Chief Operating Officer Sunil C said, “Gone are the days when talent would need to move to cities to find
jobs. Today, with work-from-home avenues increasing and more non-metro locations becoming popular for digital skills, companies are taking the jobs to people, instead of candidates migrating to the cities looking for jobs.”
For instance, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Cochin, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad are building digital skills owing to the strong presence of large tier 1 players, product companies, GICs, and startups, he explained.
As attrition rates continue to remain high in the IT services space, the TeamLease report also points to an increase in contractual staffing headcount, which is expected to grow by 21 percent during the fiscal year.
“Currently, IT services companies, Global Capability Centers (GCC), and Product Development companies are the top contract staffing consumers, contributing in excess of 70 percent of this trend. In fact, by itself, GCC headcount is growing over 10 percent year-on-year,” it said.
