The Indian professional workforce report, which is a biannual report on latest trends among the professional workforce in the Indian economy, is a cumulative of the users on LinkedIn. It is segregated in two parts which are a national survey and an international survey. This survey provides an insight on the job trends and the skills that are in demand. The method of finding out the most in demand skills was by looking at skills that are high in demand compared to their supply in the skill set of the employees these days and their rate of being absorbed into an organization.
“To be successful, every single one of us has to learn new skills – not just once, but throughout our careers,” says Melinda Gates. Holding a high end degree is just not enough in today’s workplace scenario. Having special skills is like an icing on the cake. It makes sense then that employers are hungry for workers with technical skills in the market. Employers of major companies today are looking for workers with both soft and hard skills. Upon identifying the required skills early on, the search for the right candidate makes it a lot easier. Depending upon the job profile, along with the level of the position comes the responsibilities too. By and large, due to constant changes in the technological world, the most sought after hard skills evolve at lightning speed as compared to the soft skills that change gradually.
You might also be interested to read: Top 10 In Demand IT Skills In India 2020
In 2019, topping the list of LinkedIn’s global list of most sought after hard skills were cloud computing, analytical reasoning besides others like project management and technical skills too. A skill unknown till last year, blockchain, is in demand and in fact tops the list in 2020. Blockchain is a distributed database existing on multiple computers at the same time. Recruiters hiring candidates with blockchain expertise make sure their hired hands are a pro with soft skills as well. Creativity is also in great demand and tops the charts in the soft skills category.
Difference between hard and soft skills
Going by the high demand the Skills Companies Needs Most in 2020 comes under two headings:
- Soft skills — creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, emotional intelligence.
- Hard Skills — blockchain, cloud services, analytical skills, artificial intelligence.
Ability to perform a specific task such as tax accounting, law expert or software development expertise or other technical know-hows fall under the hard skills category. On the other hand, soft skills, are more about the mind; for example new innovative thought processes, adaptability,
project management and finally taking important decisions. Soft skills cannot be measured and defined unlike hard skills.
In the present scenario, management and technical skills are seen as the most sought after skills in India. “India Workforce Report “ by LinkedIn has categorically analyzed the hiring trends in India in Software and Information Technology services and has predicted it to be one of the largest industries in the years to come.
Employers put a lot of emphasis on finding candidates with the right job skills sets that are a combination of abilities such as interpersonal skills, organization and leadership as well as technical skills like computer programming, accounting etc. Major companies and businesses are opting for full automation to make their work easier. Thus, it ranks among the top technology skills in high demand in the past year. Machine learning is an application of Artificial Intelligence which helps computers take a decision or complete a task.
In the world of digitization, data is an essential ingredient. In order to get important ideas for their growth, businesses in various fields use this data. Besides, big data also helps in obtaining important business decisions. Cloud services refer to any Information Technology services that are provisioned and accessed from a cloud computing provider.In India cloud computing has a significant presence and is rapidly growing to a fully-fledged environment. Though relatively new its impact in the public sector is a game changer. With the booming IT industry, web designers and developers have a vast scope not only in India but abroad and that too with a high pay scale. The bureau of labor statistics has predicted a vertical growth in the employment rate for web developers in the coming years.
The major soft skills which include creativity, adaptability and emotional intelligence are necessary for an employee to succeed in any position irrespective of the hard skills that are specific to their respective job profiles.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ), another soft skill may have a different meaning to every individual. It has been described as a mix of self-awareness, self-control, social skills, empathy and the ability to be motivated. Having emotional intelligence isn’t only necessary for the employees but also for the recruiter. It is important to possess and hone EQ skills by accepting critique and viewing it as a learning opportunity in the workplace. Curiosity is another way of sharpening your Emotional Intelligence by asking the question ‘Why’?
A manager who himself is intelligent emotionally will be able to find and recruit the candidates with the skill sets that are required by the organization. It doesn’t matter whether it may be sales or the current rage of blockchain and cloud computing.
You might also be interested to read: The Importance Of Human Skills In Your Business
References:
- “The Most In-Demand Hard and Soft Skills of 2020” by Bruce Anderson on January 9, 2020
- “10 TOP TECH SKILLS IN HIGH DEMAND IN 2019” by Richa Bhatia on November 13, 2018
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