emerging talent pools for the new economy.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is ushering path-breaking changes across industries. This stage of industrial evolution is led by innovative business models that are a factor of technological, demographic and socio-economic changes. These new business models, in turn, are changing the landscape of employment. The World Economic Forum’s study – Future of Jobs – forecasts that five million jobs will disappear before 2020 due to the disruptive impact of Artificial Intelligence, nanotechnology, robotics, and overall socio-economic evolution of the workforce. Though, on a positive note, the report also reveals that 2.1 million jobs will also be created due to this evolution. The question, however, is that are the new-age employees prepared to step into these emerging roles. What are the skills that will be shaping the landscape of the future workforce? 



Let’s take a look at four such talent pools that will be required to meet the changing needs of the employers.

data science 

According to the Future of Jobs report, computing and big data is one of the biggest (26%) technological drivers of change. New technological developments have led to big data boom, which in turn has motivated companies to data-driven decision making. Organizations are on a lookout for data scientists who have the competency for analytics software such as, Tableau, Sisense, Microsoft Power BI, Google analytics, etc. According to Glassdoor, ‘data scientist’ was one of the highest paid profiles in the job market, in 2016. The salaries for this talent pool is stable, yet above average currently.  

artificial intelligence (ai) 

The number of organizations getting dependent on AI for various functions is on the rise. In another survey, majority of business leaders (54%) agreed that the advent of AI is crucial to their future business strategy. Advancements in the field of AI, machine learning, natural user interface are widening the scope of demand of these skills across industries. On the one hand these advancements are fulfilling the need of automation, while on the other there is also a growing need for human-machine collaboration to execute it.  This need is paving the way for talent that can train and maintain this skill in the market. 

sustainability 

In an era of emerging technologies, there is a dire need for sustainability. Companies are realizing the importance and viability of Corporate Social Responsibility. According to The Future of Sustainable Business Report, no organization will be kept from the effects of climate change. With this increased social and environmental responsibility of organizations, CSR is moving fast into C-Suite roles such as – Chief Sustainability Officer. As per a research done by Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship (BCCCC), there has been a 75% increase in the C-Suite moving to corporate citizenship.  In an era of emerging technologies, there is a dire need for sustainability. Companies are realizing the importance and viability of Corporate Social Responsibility. According to The Future of Sustainable Business Report, no organization will be kept from the effects of climate change. With this increased social and environmental responsibility of organizations, CSR is moving fast into C-Suite roles such as – Chief Sustainability Officer. As per a research done by Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship (BCCCC), there has been a 75% increase in the C-Suite moving to corporate citizenship. 

cyber security 

There is a huge gap between the demand and supply of cyber security professionals in India. Growing number of cases of hacking, loss of data, and cyber attacks have weakened the negotiating power of companies as they are forced to hire the rare available talent. The scenario, thereby has created a bigger attraction towards profiles in this field. India Inc., for instance, offered salaries at 25% to 30% hike to hire professionals skilled in cybersecurity. Government initiatives such as demonetization and Digital India have further fueled the need for talent with expertise in data security. Younger professionals to leaders are preparing to explore roles in cybersecurity such as risk auditors, firewall specialists, security analysts, intrusion detection specialists, etc. 



New economies call for developing the apt skill matrix at the end of HR. The demand for competencies and levels of proficiency are evolving faster than ever and the emerging talent pools are a clear evidence of this stage of industrial evolution.