Of 5.1 lakh jobs demand, 1.4 lakh vacant in AI and Big Data: Nasscom

With a rapid growth of digitisation and emerging technology, the job ecosystem across the spectrum has been witnessing a major shift.

According to latest the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) report, due to a deficit in qualified and skilled manpower, around 1.4 lakh jobs are vacant in Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics segment across sectors.

Out of total demand, which is of 5.1 lakh employees, only 3.7 lakh jobs are filled. And in three years time employee deficit would increase to 2.3 lakh and demand would go up to 8 lakh.

However, the deficit could be met with the help of involving universities and colleges along with other companies including Wipro and Tech Mahindra to provide relevant skills to around one million employees and another one million prospective employees and students, it added.

Nasscom had in February launched the Future Skills programme with an aim to reskill one million professionals along with skilling one million potential employees and students in the industry over a period of five years. It has also tied up with Intel and IBM for augmenting and accelerating the data science and artificial Intelligence ecosystem in the country.

Early in July, Nasscom, opened a Center of Excellence (CoE) for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Bengaluru.

Nasscom is also aiming to support the government’s National Strategy for AI and will facilitate collaboration between NITI Aayog and CoEs. It is in talks with states on digital transformation.

In Feb this year, NITI Aayog was instructed by India FM Arun Jaitley to initiate a national program to direct efforts in the area of artificial intelligence, including research and development of its applications.

The government plans to offer incentives to startups and venture funds that undertake application-oriented research on AI across key sectors including banking, insurance, education, health, retail, and transportation. It has been piloting the emerging tech in those segments.

On reducing demand of engineers at a fresher level, Nasscom president Debjani Ghosh said they will recruit one lakh freshers through its member companies.

According to her, Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity would be the most important areas, which will provide new employment opportunities.