How Indian startups are bridging the skills gap in the corporate sector

The Indian government has introduced several schemes to empower and make today’s youth ready for jobs and upskill the existing workforce. Along with the government, corporates and startups, too, are jumping on the bandwagon to offer upskilling and reskilling services. 

During a panel discussion at Techsparks 2021, YourStory’s flagship startup-tech event, Sandeepa Kasala Samuel, Director, Talent Experience, GoodWorker, and Manish E Naidu, CEO and Founder, Brainwonders, discussed the role Indian startups play to bridge the skills gap. 

Sandeepa said corporates are looking for candidates who are flexible and agile to thrive in the post-COVID-19 world.

Manish added, “In the current scenario, employers are creating an all-star workforce, where they will also want a particular candidate to upskill the rest of the skills to fit into the management and create an all-star workforce within a very small community.” 

He said employers are now looking for a lean mean model, who want their employees to have as many skill sets as required and would complement their current job scenario.

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Job opportunities and skillset required

According to Sandeepa, in the next couple of quarters, blue-collar workers will see a surge in hiring in the third-party logistics sector, catering to companies, including Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Zomato, etc. 

In fact, the manufacturing segment, especially the textile and automotive industries, will see a rise in hiring as they have accelerated their digital transformation. 

“Tech adoption is going to pick up, and we need to look at upskilling and advancing our workers,” added Sandeepa.

Manish highlighted that while the career counselling space is heating up, the industry does not to even one percent of the audience.

He said Brainwonders — a Mumbai-based career counselling services company — has got well-curated data of 671 careers, which are mapped for 11,000 colleges and 13,000 courses. 

“With this sort of data, the sorts of opportunities for children would be massive, irrespective of whether they get 35 or 50, or 80 percent marks,” he added. 

“I think, slowly and surely, in the next few years, the onus of getting the right percentage of marks or the intelligent quotient would decrease, and more of emotional quotient, understanding, and developing multiple intelligences will take the child ahead. The world is not poised for only maths or engineering or medical students moving ahead. So you excel in everything, and there are opportunities for you to grow in all the segments,” he added. 

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For a line-up of all the action-packed sessions at YourStory's flagship startup-tech conference, check out TechSparks 2021 website.