How Convergence Of Technology, Education & Skilling Can Create A Future-Ready India

Unlike the previous century's industrial revolution, when an invention took years, or at least months, to reach the public, today's breakthrough ideas reach and are implemented almost instantly in the real world. And, given the continual tsunamis of technological change brought on by AI, automation, and machine learning, a technology-driven economy that underscores the need for rapid adaptability to new opportunities will present significant challenges. Hence, there is a need to make appropriate modifications to stay ahead of the curve and keep up with the fast-changing, tech-savvy world.

As a result, organisations are focusing on hiring technically sound candidates for the current job role and who are willing to learn new skills to join the future-ready workforce. So, let's dive deeper to understand how a combination of technology, education, and skilling will lead to a future-ready India.

Upskilling to match the digital world

The pandemic has indisputably hastened the pace of digitization, rapidly transforming how we work. In addition, as technology advances, businesses are focusing on acquiring qualified, future-ready professionals to keep up with changing business conditions. However, since the pandemic has severely damaged physical classroom-based learning, companies, professionals, and educational institutions have turned to online education to train the future workforce.

Empowering the workforce with necessary skillsets

India has a vast and rapidly expanding youth population, with most of them being of working age. Besides this, India will have the world's largest workforce by2027, with 1 billion people aged 15 to 64. Despite the rising workforce and changing organizational needs, providing youth with adequate, relevant, and job-ready skills for the digital economy remains a significant challenge. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2025, half of all existing employees will require some reskilling, and over 2.5 million employment opportunities in India will be unfilled, necessitating an urgent upskilling imperative.

With the constant change in skill demands, there is a need to train the professionals to keep up with the new requirements. As a result, ed-tech companies are on a mission to equip both working professionals and aspirants in various fields with the skills they need to succeed in the digital age. Education firms are going to great lengths to mould students into future-ready, qualified professionals, offering a wide range of professional certificate courses, executive MBAs, and other programs.

Accessible, quality education for equal opportunities

With the rise of new-age industries like FinTech, AI, and Supply Chain Management, the demand for a wide range of skills and knowledge has increased. Hence, there is a need to manage education for a large population. Understanding this, education platforms are stepping forward to ensure that learners have access to tech-enabled learning approaches and a selected curriculum through the use of technology and digital learning. Furthermore, aspirants and professionals recognize that they must upskill to thrive in this competitive market; therefore, they are looking for relevant programs that can assist them in excelling in their careers and have a secure future.

In fact, the number of students enrolled in university education has climbed by about 5 per cent per year, demonstrating a growing desire to learn new skills. And also, the government has shown its inclination towards bolstering the education system by increasing the budget allocation for education under Samagra Shiksha (school education sector) from Rs. 31,050 crore in 2021-22 to Rs. 37,383 crore in 2022-23.

With the ever-evolving technology, 90 per cent of the future value will be driven by AI, robots and machine learning. Hence, to keep up with this digital revolution and create the future workforce, there is a need for skill transformation. However, it's not that simple; much effort is required to ensure that everyone learns, works, and participates in the future digital world. Thus, to convert this India's skilling challenge into an opportunity, there is a need for all the decision-makers, educators, and business leaders to come together. And if we envision reaching a goal of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy, the confluence of technology, education, and skilling is the only recipe for success.

Nikhil Barshikar

Guest Author Nikhil Barshikar is the Founder and Managing Director of Imarticus Learning, one of India’s leading professional ed-tech company that offers training in financial services and analytics. Nikhil has spent the better part of his 16-year long career in investment banking and capital markets, having held key leadership positions at some of the world’s largest finance and investment companies. Besides a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Rutgers University, Nikhil also holds a joint MBA from Columbia University and London Business School