How can you fix your tech skills gap?
In today’s world, employers need to be shown, not told, what your skills are. So, set up that GitHub account, post your projects there, develop an opinion, and create a portfolio rather than a resume.
Harish K Subramanian
Most of us are inextricably tied to our
identities—as a ‘mainframes guy’ or a ‘Java developer’. It’s what we know,
we’re proud of it, and we’re very, very comfortable with it. Until we are not.
The technology skills gap seems to have sneaked up on the information
technology (IT) industry as a whole, but it shouldn’t have been. The writing
has been on the wall for a long time. Automation is the most commonly attributed
cause, but it’s likely only the last straw. No doubt, IT companies’ business
models are changing fundamentally—with a larger proportion of business likely
to come from advanced technology solutions, rather than the bread-and-butter
process outsourcing.
At the same time, the wage arbitrage
opportunity has been shrinking over the last decade, and a vast majority of our
‘client countries’, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have
been kicking up an anti-globalisation, protectionist storm. In light of such
macroeconomic uncertainty, companies have unsurprisingly taken a ‘wait and
watch’ approach. All this while, companies have maintained rather deep benches,
with hiring and training contingent on the pipeline of future projects and project
extensions.
And ‘bench strength’ is the first area of
reduction, especially when this contingent talent isn’t trained in areas that
are increasingly most pertinent—including analytics, big data, cloud computing,
machine learning and the like. This seems patently unfair. You learned what you
were told to learn by your firm, and then you got really good at your job. Now
that’s not enough?
Fear not, though. Competing for a shrinking
number of jobs in your area of expertise isn’t your destiny. Industry association
Nasscom believes that about 40% of the technology and BPO workforce in India
need to re-skill themselves over the next five years. In a sector that employs
an estimated four million people, that’s 1.6 million who need to learn these
skills.
So, what exactly should you be learning?
Apart from getting skilled in the ‘coming
wave’ of technologies, what else can one do? Reinventing yourself takes a lot
more time and effort than just taking a course or two. For starters, build a
‘body of work’. Employers now need to be shown, not told, what your skills are.
So, set up that GitHub account, post your projects there, develop an opinion,
and create a portfolio rather than a resume. Even more importantly, learn to
learn—so that you’re not in this situation again.
The cycle time of technology advancement is
only getting shorter, and companies face less of a hurdle in the adoption of
new technology solutions. So, you need to stay on top of every ‘coming wave’.
Okay, the learning part makes sense. But what do you do with all this new
knowledge? How do you reinvent yourself when you’ve built a decade-long career
in one area? Let’s take a look at some of our Great Lakes PGP-BABI (Post
Graduate Programme in Business Analytics and Business Intelligence) alumni who
have blazed a trail for us.
Move within your organisation
Kiran Jangeti (PGP-BABI 2014) spent over 15
years at Value Labs, when he felt the need to upskill himself. However, with
all this experience, the logical place to transition into a career as an
analytics leader was within his existing organisation—where he had a working
history, track record, and trust. He didn’t need to prove his ability to
deliver. Instead, he only had to augment his repertoire with a set of
analytical tools and techniques. Not only is Kiran Jangeti now the AVP of
Global Delivery, he also met some impressive students in his class who he ended
up hiring.
Build on what you are good at
With 18 years experience as an IT manager in
the financial services domain, Vilas Wakale (PGP-BABI 2015) wanted a change.
Having learned analytics, visualisation, modelling and a host of new skills,
Vilas Wakale seized the opportunity to set up his own consulting practice. And
in this capacity, he has been able to combine his newly acquired skills with
nearly two decades of experience in financial services and IT projects. This
complementary combination has helped him work with the ministry of home affairs
of the government of India in a multidisciplinary data management role, with an
emphasis on banking.
Starting up
Having worked for a decade as an engineer and
manager, Gayatri Sukumar (PGP-BABI 2015) looked to start a venture of her own.
While it takes some convincing for a company to trust your new-found skills,
you don’t need to convince yourself! Her tenacity in applying these new skills
to an area of passion—education—led to the birth of her company, Latitude
Analytics. Reinvention isn’t an overnight process. Learning new skills needs to
be reinforced by the humility to accept lateral or even lower-grade assignments.
A beginner’s mindset certainly helps. And above all, you need to back yourself
to succeed.
Source | Financial Express | 3
July 2017
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior Manager @
Knowledge Repository
Khaitan
& Co
Upcoming Lecture | ACTREC - BOSLA Annual lecture series (125th birth anniversary of
father of library science, Padmashree Dr. S. R. Ranganathan) on Saturday, 12th August 2017 at
Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC),
Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. (Theme |
'MakerSpace')
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