India has embarked on a massive IT re-skilling program, resolving to train as many as 2 million engineering graduates in eight emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI).
Nicknamed ‘future skills’, the program aims to end the country’s IT talent shortage once and for all, increasing its IT export revenue to new highs.
“The technology professionals and the youth will be skilled and reskilled in AI, Virtual Reality, Robotic Process Automation, Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, 3D Printing, Cloud Computing, Social and Mobiles,” stated The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), India’s IT industry lobby group.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who set the program in motion at a colorful event in the Southeastern City of Hyderabad, said it is inevitable for the IT workforce to re-skill themselves, while pointing his fingers at Sophia, the robot.
Nasscom President Chandrasekhar said re-skilling was vital for the country to realize its goal of making US$350 billion in annual IT services export by 2025. As of today, India’s services export (including BPO) stands at US$150 billion.
There is little doubt that the government has taken the skills shortage seriously. It has created a cabinet position exclusively for skills training.
Furthermore, it will soon establish ‘centers of excellence’ in major cities across the country to make resources accessible for firms developing solutions in different technology segments, including fintech, IoT, virtual reality, blockchain, medical technology and electronics products.
RPA can help companies execute various business processes quickly and accurately at reduced costs with less need for human intervention than ever before, but there has also been some fears around robots replacing the human workforce. This suggestion is not necessarily realistic, robots can’t steal jobs currently being performed by humans. These “robots” exist within their own right but they are not here to negate the need for humans in the workplace. Experts suggest the complete replacement of human employees by robots is not likely to happen and that RPA is much more likely to contribute to potential job reallocation and even job creation.