That is not to say AI has vanished from the talent narrative. Traditional engineers are building automation into their projects, data scientists are scrambling to master new tools, all while firms are racing to build the right skills a modern AI-driven workplace would demand.

A recent foundit report said that the global capability centre (GCC) sector is now an AI talent engine, with nearly two in three new roles created in 2026 requiring AI skills, particularly in data science or intelligent automation.

But as GCCs take on crucial business-focused mandates, that talent focus is starting to look different on the ground. The capability a centre owns is no longer defined only by the technology stack it runs, but is majorly defined by the discipline it serves.

Moreover, roles well beyond the traditional tech remit has been the strong lever for the fast growth of GCCs, which majorly spans R&D and engineering, governance, finance, supply chain, and strategy functions across multiple sectors.

And India, for now, remains uniquely placed to fill them. It’s a market still sitting on a surplus of talent abundance, deep enough to staff practically every one of those disciplines in large numbers.“

I don’t think it’s about newer roles. It’s newer profiles that we’re looking at for similar jobs,” Gangapriya Chakraverti, India site head and managing director, Ford Business Solutions told ETGCCWorld.

Are AI skills really enough?

While AI and automation have emerged as central themes, organisations are also looking beyond purely technology-led skills as they take on more difficult and business-critical mandates.

While a centre supporting drug trials needs clinical data expertise as much as it needs AI engineers, a firm designing electric vehicle components needs battery and materials specialists. Same goes for a global insurer, who needs actuaries who understand regulation as well as the latest AI models.

Simply put, AI may be the underneath layer or the foundational engine behind all of this work, but it is not the core principle guiding the mandates.

At Ford Business Solutions, the company’s technology and business services hub supporting automobile major Ford’s global operations, this work spans both digital and functional areas. It currently houses over 12,000 employees focused on these areas.

“It’s not just technology professionals that we are saying need functional skills. That is certainly happening. But we are also seeing finance, accounting, materials planning people who have technology skills or digital skills and experience,” she added.

While the GCC is focused on software engineering, AI and product engineering, the larger focus is also on areas spanning finance, manufacturing engineering, logistics and supply chain management.

The GCC sector in India, which now employs around 2.36 million professionals, is drawing on the country’s talent beyond its traditional technology workforce.

According to Rajiv Gajria, vice president & managing director, Blackbaud India, global organisations across industries are expanding the scope of work led from India, with teams taking greater ownership of products and working more closely toward customer outcomes.

“India is particularly well positioned for this shift because organizations can draw not only on deep technology talent, but also on the business understanding and leadership capability required to take on increasingly complex global responsibilities,” Gajria said.

At present, teams support technology used across fundraising, education, financial management, customer experience, and other mission-driven areas.

“In these environments, knowing how to build technology is only part of the equation. What increasingly sets strong teams apart is their ability to understand context, collaborate across disciplines and global teams, and exercise the judgment needed to deliver meaningful outcomes,” Gajria added.

Firms are prioritising several capabilities spanning specialised domains such as healthcare, finance, engineering, supply chain, risk and advisory.

For Manish Goyal, managing director and head-GCC at Alvarez & Marsal, the larger question is what capabilities the country can own for the wider enterprise.

“Companies are no longer asking only, ‘What technology work can we move to India?’ They are asking, ‘What capabilities can India own for the enterprise?’” Goyal said.

He added how this is creating demand across R&D, data infrastructure, as well as risk, regulatory and controls capabilities.

“We are also seeing growth in market intelligence and analytics, finance, supply chain and procurement, and business strategy and transformation roles. The larger story is that the boundary of what companies believe can be owned from India is steadily expanding,” Goyal said.

This widening mandate is also changing the nature of work GCCs are bringing into India. Engineering and R&D, in particular, are emerging as major areas of focus, with centres increasingly taking on work ranging from product R&D and semiconductor design to EV battery and powertrain engineering, ADAS and sensor fusion.

“GCCs are shifting from execution hubs to owners of intellectual property,” said Devashish Sharma, CEO and co-founder of Taggd, a staffing firm that works closely with GCCs.

“Engineering and R&D is a major focus for GCCs right now, whether it is product R&D, semiconductor design, EV battery and powertrain engineering, ADAS or sensor fusion. This is where we are seeing that shift happen,” Sharma added.

For professional services firm Baker Tilly One India, this opportunity lies in another large talent pool that India has always offered. This majorly comprises accountants, auditors and advisory professionals.

The organisation was built as a capability and transformation hub spanning assurance, tax, consulting, risk advisory, managed services and enterprise services.

“We are growing as a firm, and we expect India to continue to grow with it. But rather than anchor that growth to a specific headcount number, we are focused on the capabilities we need for the future and how AI will reshape both the work we do and our talent mix,” explained Balaji Iyer, India managing principal at Baker Tilly One India.

The talent model reflects the same shift towards professionals who can bring together specialised knowledge, technology fluency and a deeper understanding of the business context.

“The focus is certainly towards getting talent which has deep domain expertise, is AI fluent, is keen to deliver client delight, which means the ability to be trusted advisors to our clients,” Iyer said.

Going ahead, nearly one in four client service hours is expected to be delivered from the India center over the next four to five years, Iyer added.

“AI is not a technology play alone, it is a business play, so that it becomes a way of working in our firm. It’s not something a team does within our organization, it is what everyone embraces, and it’s how we go to market, it’s how we deliver value to clients, it’s how we scale ourselves,” Iyer said.

For US-based insurance major Hartford, the India center primarily focuses on building the capabilities needed for a technology-led organisation, along with nurturing employees with the right skills to take on global responsibilities.

“As the nature of work evolves, the emphasis will increasingly be on people who can combine strong functional expertise with the ability to learn, adapt and make sound decisions in complex environments,” said Padmavati Rallapalli, head of HR, The Hartford India.

Today, the GCC is building capabilities across digital engineering, including customer-facing insurance applications and digital platforms, alongside areas such as cloud engineering, enterprise architecture, and fraud detection.

Domain expertise meets technology

As GCCs move up the value chain, the talent they require is changing.

Organisations are looking beyond conventional technology or functional expertise, looking for professionals who can bring deep domain knowledge while also making the best use of digital tools.

“Increasingly, the value lies in combining technology with deep domain expertise rather than treating them as separate capabilities.AI and automation will continue to reduce manual and repeatable work. As that happens, the opportunity shifts towards bringing together technology, domain expertise, business judgement, and complex problem-solving,” Goyal said.

This is playing out across industries, from finance and healthcare to industrials and supply chain.

“An engineer who understands technology is valuable. An engineer who also understands the economics of the business, the regulatory environment, and the customer problem is significantly more valuable. The same principle applies across finance, healthcare, industrials, supply chain and financial services,” Goyal explained.

The same shift can be seen in the life sciences sector, especially in cities such as Hyderabad, where GCCs are taking on specialised scientific, analytical and regulatory work.

Swiss-based pharmaceutical major Novartis, which set up one of the earliest GCCs in India nearly 25 years ago, has since grown its Hyderabad centre into its largest global hub.

“From its humble beginnings as a support hub, the Novartis Corporate Center Hyderabad uniquely houses biomedical research, drug development, manufacturing and supply operations, and other corporate functions,” explained Ganpat Anchaliya, site head, Novartis Corporate Center, India.

The center works closely across the company’s global drug development programmes, requiring capabilities that extend beyond just AI.

“India is deeply embedded in our global development of medicines model, so it’s less about ‘India-only’ programmes and more about global assets where India plays an important enabling role across chemistry, analytics, biostatistics, data science and clinical operations,” added Anchaliya.

The Hyderabad centre currently supports multiple Phase-II and Phase-III programmes across therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, oncology, immunology and neuroscience.

“Nearly every molecule that reaches late-stage development in Novartis has some contribution from teams in India, whether that is through technical development work at Genome Valley, global clinical trial support, advanced analytics, or regulatory documentation,” Anchaliya noted.

This becomes one of the finest examples of how the GCC talent pool includes highly specialised expertise that is closely tied to the core business of the organisation.

Sharma added how healthcare-linked talent is growing fast without getting equivalent attention. India already has 150+ healthcare-linked GCCs working in biopharma, health-tech, and AI-driven clinical platforms, yet this rarely comes up in conversations about GCC hiring.

“Manufacturing-adjacent capability is another area with real headroom, embedded systems, hardware design, precision engineering. As global supply chains shift, GCCs are starting to co-locate capability development alongside manufacturing, but this remains early-stage in India,” he noted.

Addressing the skill gap

As GCCs build a wider range of capabilities, they are also becoming more cautious about where they find talent.

“GCCs are becoming more thoughtful about where they find talent and how they build access to it,” Goyal said.

Peer GCCs remain an important source, given that these professionals already understand the industry context and the workings of a global organisation. Technology and IT services companies offer another pool of leaders accustomed to managing large teams across geographies, while consulting firms are becoming increasingly relevant for strategy and transformation roles, he added.

Campuses also remain important, particularly engineering and business schools, alongside experienced Indian professionals returning after careers in the US and Europe.

At the same time, companies are expanding their search beyond the traditional talent hubs.

“There is also a greater focus on building talent rather than simply hiring it.The broader point is that India’s talent advantage is no longer just about scale. It is also about how thoughtfully GCCs access, develop and deploy that talent,” Goyal said.

GCCs are developing deeper partnerships with universities and helping shape curricula around the skills they expect to need. They are also working with consulting firms, technology services companies and outsourcing providers to access specialised capabilities that may take longer to build internally.

“Today’s workforce is also seeking opportunities to contribute strategically, solve meaningful problems, and create impact regardless of location. As AI becomes embedded into everyday workflows, the ability to learn continuously, adapt quickly, and make informed decisions will be essential for long-term success,” added Gajria.

According to Taggd’s Sharma, companies are mapping skill clusters to locations before opening roles, while expanding their search beyond the established hubs to emerging talent centres.

“GCCs are mapping skill clusters against location before opening a requisition. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Mumbai, and Pune remain the primary hubs. But emerging clusters, Kochi, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Indore, are seeing 21 per cent year-on-year growth in GCC demand,” he noted.

India’s advantage is not just the scale of its technology talent. Over the years, the growth of GCCs has also created deep pools of people with experience in specific industries.

That was an important factor in Under Armour’s own decision to set up its center in Bangalore this year.

“We evaluated locations globally before choosing India and eventually Bangalore. One of the major reasons was the depth of retail talent available here. Bangalore has a significant concentration of retail GCCs, which has created a strong pool of professionals who understand both technology and the retail business,” explained Madhu Natesan, vice president and managing director, at Under Armour India.

He added the firm has consciously looked for that combination in its hiring.

“Our leadership team brings strong retail experience, and we have also focused on retail context while building engineering and AI teams. The conversation around India talent has traditionally been very technology-led. But years of GCC growth have also created people with deep knowledge of specific industries and business functions,” Natesan added.

From a sector perspective,he added how GCCs are building deeper capabilities across data and platform engineering, consumer technology, decision products, cloud and infrastructure, and enterprise applications.

Moreover, skills such as creativity, independent thinking, communication and the ability to navigate ambiguity are becoming important.

“These skills become more important as GCCs move from executing defined processes to shaping decisions and owning business outcomes.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply increasing the talent pool. It is developing a larger base of enterprise leaders and problem-solvers. That will play an important role in determining how far up the value chain GCCs in India can move,” Goyal said.

One of India’s potential advantages, according to Iyer, comes from the vantage point its teams have across the broader organisation.

“There’s a very intuitive intelligence that the team in India has. It’s to be able to bring standardisation, it’s able to bring the client context and surface it up as a connected intelligence,” he said.

Because the India team works across US offices, clients, service lines and functions, it has the ability to identify common patterns and bring together insights from different parts of the business.

“India has an abundance of strong technical talent. But as GCCs take on larger mandates, knowing how to build something is only one part of the requirement. People also need to understand the business problem and why it matters,” Natesan said.

AI and automation will undoubtedly continue to shape the GCC talent playbook.

As these centres take on work that is closer to the core of the business, the skills they need are changing too. And that will depend on how well that expertise can be combined with the latest tools and understanding of their business.

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As artificial intelligence reshapes the way businesses operate, questions around which jobs will grow, which will shrink, and how the workforce should prepare for this shift are becoming urgent. We spoke to four experts across recruitment, finance education, AV technology, and higher education to get their perspective.

Which jobs are likely to grow, and which are at risk?

Devashish Sharma, Co-Founder and CEO of Taggd, says AI will boost demand for roles that “build, govern and apply technology to business problems,” while work built around repeatable logic and routine execution will be “fundamentally redefined” rather than eliminated outright.

CFA Sanjay Saraf, Founder of Sanjay Saraf Educational Institute (SSEI), Kolkata, points to growth in AI, data analytics, cybersecurity, risk management, investment research and fraud detection, along with strong demand for professionals who combine domain knowledge with technology.

Roles at greater risk, he says, include routine data entry, standard reporting, reconciliation, and templated research. His sharper warning: the real risk isn’t AI replacing people — it’s professionals who use AI well replacing those who don’t.

Vijay Sharma, Managing Director of Optoma Technology (India), expects a considerable boost in demand for AI integration, automation, data science, cybersecurity, software development, and intelligent AV systems, while manual data entry, administrative functions and customer service will be automated to a large extent.

Dr. Lovi Raj Gupta, Pro Vice-Chancellor of LPU, frames it historically: every technological shift, from computers entering banks and railways, changed the nature of work rather than eliminating it altogether. The roles most at risk, he says, are those “built around repetitive and predictable work.”

Sidharth Thakur, Director, Grassik Search, says, “Professionals today need AI literacy, sound judgment to question AI’s often-flawed outputs, and strong human skills like relationship-building that AI can’t replicate.”

What skills should students and professionals build?

Sharma of Taggd lists AI and Generative AI, machine learning, data science, Python and SQL, cloud engineering, cybersecurity, and full-stack development as key technical skills but adds that critical thinking, judgement, adaptability, empathy and stakeholder management will increasingly determine effectiveness, since “AI can accelerate the process,” but “human judgement, context, and relationships will determine the outcome.”

Saraf identifies three capabilities for finance professionals: strong fundamentals in accounting and valuation, technology and data literacy including Excel, SQL, Python and AI tools, and independent judgement the ability to question assumptions and separate information from insight.

Vijay Sharma emphasises continuous learning over a fixed skill set digital literacy, AI competency, critical thinking and creativity, alongside communication and teamwork.

Dr. Gupta says the most valuable skill isn’t knowing how to use AI tools, but knowing how to apply them to real-world problems, alongside analytical ability, ethical judgment and business understanding.

He notes recruiters are increasingly assessing capability over credentials, favouring live projects, internships and portfolios over theoretical knowledge alone.

Thankur of Grassik Search says “CXOs must get hands-on with AI themselves, since it now touches strategy, capital allocation and customer experience all at once.”

He suggests three habits that could make a real difference: “Block real weekly time for hands-on learning, set up reverse mentorship with the youngest people in your organisation, and study how AI is being deployed outside your own sector; cross-industry pattern recognition matters more than depth in any single tool.”

How should governments, institutions and companies prepare the workforce?

“Sharma of Taggd points to companies mapping skill taxonomies to identify workforce gaps, and highlights TARA Insights, the talent intelligence layer within Taggd’s agentic AI recruitment engine, TARA, as helping bring visibility into talent supply, skill availability and emerging capability needs.”

Saraf calls for a three-way effort: governments investing in affordable reskilling and vocational training, institutions moving beyond exam-focused learning toward AI literacy and live projects, and companies redesigning entry-level roles to give young professionals earlier exposure to analysis and decision-making.

Vijay Sharma stresses collaboration on lifelong learning and modular credentialing, with governments funding subsidised training and companies embedding upskilling into regular workflows.

For the AV sector specifically, he flags network engineering, IoT cybersecurity and AI system integration as priority skills.

Dr. Gupta says curricula must stay dynamic through continuous industry engagement a practice he says LPU follows in line with the National Education Policy but adds that curriculum alone isn’t enough.

Students need internships, live industry projects and multidisciplinary exposure before graduation, with institutions treating employability “as a continuous process rather than a placement outcome.”

Thakur of Graphic Search says governments, institutions and companies must fast-track reskilling toward high-growth areas like AI/ML and cybersecurity, while building transition pathways for at-risk roles like entry-level coders, testers and BPO staff.

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Yet, despite access to one of the world’s deepest talent pools, hiring has become less predictable. Roles are evolving faster than job descriptions can keep pace with. Skills are emerging and being superseded in increasingly compressed cycles. Candidates are making career decisions differently. Across the GCC ecosystem, one challenge is surfacing with increasing frequency: whether the right talent can be discovered, engaged meaningfully, and retained long enough to create business value.

AI is now becoming the catalyst of hiring models in GCCs. AI reshapes job architectures and automates routine work; traditional hiring models are beginning to lose relevance. The traditional “zero-to-two-years” hiring category is being reimagined around capability, and not tenure. This evolution is creating entirely new talent requirements.

Entry-level roles are being restructured, with many organisations complementing conventional campus hiring through apprenticeships, project-based learning, certifications, and skill-first pathways that emphasise demonstrable capability over credentials. In this new environment, success depends not merely on what professionals know but on how quickly they can learn, adapt, and create value.

Consider a GCC hiring 500 AI engineers across multiple locations. Traditional recruitment models often require teams to navigate thousands of candidate interactions while simultaneously tracking market conditions, stakeholder expectations, and evolving skill requirements. A modern agentic hiring architecture is designed to operate differently.

Through specialised AI agents, market intelligence, and real-time hiring analytics, organisations can support every stage of the talent journey. Talent intelligence agents continuously monitor skill availability, compensation movements, and emerging talent clusters. Sourcing and screening agents identify high-potential candidates based on capability fit rather than keyword matches. Interview agents conduct structured assessments and generate standardised insights, while engagement agents monitor candidate sentiment, anticipate offer-drop risks, and recommend interventions before they become hiring challenges.

This capability becomes particularly valuable in India’s GCC landscape.

According to the Cracking the Growth Code for GCCs in India 2025 report, more than 600,000 jobs were added by GCCs between 2019 and 2024, while nearly half of the surveyed organisations plan to increase hiring in FY26.

At the same time, 40% of GCCs are diversifying hiring strategies into Tier II and Tier III cities, creating more distributed and complex talent ecosystems. Managing this scale and diversity requires far greater visibility than traditional recruitment processes can offer.

With the help of Agentic AI, what emerges is not a faster recruitment process, but a more intelligent one. The promise of agentic AI is not automation for its own sake. It is the ability to move from activity to outcomes, from hindsight to foresight, and from recruitment as a process to talent acquisition as a strategic capability.

The objective is to improve hiring outcomes: stronger quality of hire, improved offer-to-join ratios, lower attrition, faster fulfilment, and greater workforce predictability. Yet the most profound impact of agentic AI may not be technological at all. It may be human.

As AI agents take over operational tasks across sourcing, screening, interview coordination, market intelligence, and candidate engagement, recruiters are freed to focus on higher-value strategic decision-making. Their role shifts from coordinating processes to influencing outcomes. They spend less time tracking pipelines and more time understanding business needs, calibrating talent priorities, engaging critical candidates, and advising hiring managers.

The shift is equally significant for hiring managers. The grunt work is eliminated, and with it, the bandwidth which was previously consumed by coordination and administrative screening is now redirected toward the decisions that genuinely require human judgment: evaluating cultural alignment, assessing leadership potential, and shaping the quality of the hire beyond what a scorecard can capture.

The result is a hiring model where technology amplifies human expertise, enabling recruiters to operate not as process managers but as strategic talent advisors. The future is defined by recruiters equipped with agentic intelligence delivering outcomes that were previously impossible to achieve at scale. That shift from reactive to predictable is what agentic AI makes possible. And for a GCC ecosystem building the future of global business, it is an advantage that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

But none of this works without intentional design. Agentic AI without guardrails, without hiring manager buy-in, and without a feedback loop connecting outcomes back to process will simply automate existing inefficiencies at greater speed.

The real opportunity for GCCs is about reaching a point where the outcome of a hiring quarter is not a surprise, where pipeline health is visible in real time, not pieced together at the end of a cycle. Where a TA leader walks into a business review and speaks in forecasts, not retrospectives. The shift, from reactive to predictable, is what agentic AI makes possible. And it is long overdue.

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With the deeper proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) and growing maturity over certain functions, these centers are now building products from the ground up, leading projects that are innovative, and taking a step ahead of ‘following instructions’ from the headquarters.

While global giants are experimenting with their talent strategy, they are also making a major tweak in their pay philosophy, all while they try to scout for the perfect talent mix.

Some of the most attractive sets of hires in the industry are the mid-senior talent, which has risen sharply from 63 per cent in 2023 to 77 percent in 2025, shows a recent analysis by CIEL Works, a recruitment and staffing  company.

For similar experience levels, GCC wage offers are generally greater than those of typical IT services companies, especially for such positions.

“The nature of work in the GCCs drives a 10-25 per cent compensation premium, which is not just due to a lack of skill. Positions with greater effect, such as product engineering, global platforms, and enterprise AI, are being filled by GCC companies,” Daniele Merlerati, Chief Regional Officer–APAC, Baltics & Benelux, GI Group Holding told ETGCCWorld.

Large IT services companies, at the same time, have purposefully slowed salary increases in recent cycles due to their lengthier transaction cycles and tighter margins, Merlerati added.

Premium for AI, cybersecurity skills

Recruiters and industry leaders say this is most visible in high-skill digital roles, where GCCs are paying a premium for specialised expertise as mandates expand.

GCCs are also prioritising skill density, by investing in fewer, mid-level specialised professionals rather than following the old pyramid model.

Nizar Ali Hamid, Chief Growth Officer, Taggd, sees a narrower but consistent premium in such compensation structures.

“Compensation patterns between GCCs and IT services are increasingly diverging. From what we see in the market, GCC compensation typically sits at 8-15 per cent above IT services for comparable experience. This is largely driven by the nature of work, global mandates, product ownership, and strategic accountability,” says Nizar Ali Hamid, Chief Growth Officer, Taggd.

Read the full story here.

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“By saying Make in India, we are not only inviting companies for cost-effective manufacturing but also giving them an opportunity of a large market for their products.”- Narendra Modi 

India’s manufacturing sector is growing rapidly, with manufacturing exports touching $418 billion, a 40% spike from the previous year. The figures indicate the potential of India to become the global hub for manufacturing operations. This ambition is propelled by India’s potential to offer a high-quality, low-cost alternative for manufacturing and assembly operations backed by a skilled workforce. 

As one of the key contributors to India’s economy, the manufacturing sector accounts for about 16% of the country’s GDP and employs over 27 million people. To further boost economic growth and employment, the Government of India plans to spend INR 100 trillion (US$1.35 trillion) on infrastructure by 2030. Studies show that 120,000-150,000 new opportunities will be created in mobile manufacturing alone.  

In this article, we will look into key factors driving the sector’s growth and the opportunities it will bring.  

The Impact of the Lockdown  

COVID-19 significantly impacted the global manufacturing sector, particularly in China– once considered the de facto manufacturer of the world. China was the epicenter of the outbreak and the pandemic broke havoc across the country, causing significant component shortages and disrupting global supply chains. 

Companies across several countries faced the brunt of overdependence on one country for their operations, and many countries are now seeking alternatives to China for their manufacturing needs, leading to the rapid adoption of the “China plus one” strategy.  

This strategy entails companies diversifying their manufacturing operations from China to other countries like India to reduce risks and costs associated with relying solely on China. 

Taking the opportunity of these changes, India has been actively promoting itself as a destination for manufacturing investment, with an ambitious plan to become a global manufacturing hub across a range of industries.  

For instance, the semiconductor industry is one such area that has picked up pace in recent times, with the development of new facilities and the expansion of existing ones. States like Karnataka and Telangana have received strong interests from global behemoth FoxConn for Semiconductor factories. As a result, the semiconductor industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12-15% globally, paving the way for new job opportunities in India. 

Opportunities for Job Seekers in the Manufacturing Sector 

The manufacturing sector is expected to see significant growth in the coming years, with job opportunities across all industry segments. According to Deepti Vij, Director at Honeywell, “The engineering and manufacturing industry is rapidly evolving with the integration of technology and digitalization. This is leading to the creation of new job opportunities in fields such as technology, software, engineering, and healthcare.” 

Let’s take a look at the employment possibilities that can arise from the expansion of the manufacturing industry in India: 

• Demand for Tech-Based Roles 

As the global manufacturing sector moves towards Industry 4.0, organizations seek to incorporate technology to improve productivity, quality, and efficiency. The use of automation, robotics, and AI is transforming the sector, making it more competitive and agile. This has also created new job opportunities in areas such as AI, ML, IoT, big data analytics, and cloud computing. 

• More Opportunities for Safety and Security Professionals

Manufacturing plants require proper safety measures to be put in place to avoid accidents and ensure worker safety. Therefore, roles such as safety engineers and safety supervisors will be in high demand. With the growing digitalization, manufacturing units will also need professionals to implement security measures against cyber threats. 

• Focus on Lean Manufacturing 

Lean manufacturing focuses on eliminating waste and increasing efficiency by streamlining processes, reducing costs, and improving quality. This approach requires a different mindset, and therefore, organizations are looking for professionals with experience in lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Total Quality Management (TQM).  

• Fostering Innovation & Demand  

The growth of the manufacturing sector also requires constant innovation. This has led to an increase in demand for research and development professionals. Roles such as product development engineers, R&D scientists, and process engineers will be in high demand. 

• Green Manufacturing 

With growing concerns about climate change, there is a growing demand for professionals in green manufacturing. Green manufacturing focuses on reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing operations. Fields such as renewable energy, reducing waste, and sustainable manufacturing practices are where professionals can contribute. 

The Way Forward 

“No country is ever successful in the long term… without a really strong and vibrant manufacturing base” – Alan Mulally, ex-CEO, Ford Motor Company. 

The manufacturing sector in India presents immense potential for growth, making it a vital contributor to the country’s economy and job market. With the government’s commitment to investing in infrastructure, the sector is poised to expand even further, with the help of recruitment process outsourcing companies.

With the right skills and experience, job seekers will eventually find a fulfilling and rewarding career in the manufacturing sector. 

About the Author 

Pankaj Bansal is the Co- founder of Taggd and Work Universe (a Fund investing in jobs and work tech). He is a non-executive director at Karmayogi Bharat (Capacity building or Civil Servants) and many other startups. Follow him on Twitter at @pankajbansalPB.   

By Pankaj Bansal

Co-founder of Taggd and Work Universe

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“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”  –Steve Jobs 

With the emergence of the gig economy, job seekers have a greater chance to pursue work that aligns with their skills and interests, while also getting the flexibility they desire. 

The gig economy has grown rapidly in recent years due to increasing demand for work flexibility and reducing stigma attached to gig work, presenting new opportunities for job seekers to explore freelance or short-term contracts instead of traditional employment.  

According to the Decoding Jobs 2023 report, it is estimated that the gig workforce in India will increase by over 110 lakh workers by 2025. NITI Aayog’s 2022 report on India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy also predicts that the gig economy could potentially increase to 2.35 crore workers by 2030. 

While gig work can provide individuals with the freedom to work on their own terms, and choose their own hours, it also poses certain challenges. In this article, we’ll explore the opportunities and challenges that job seekers can encounter in the evolving gig economy. 

Why is the Gig Economy growing? 

Managing volatility through gig work: Gig work has become an attractive solution to manage volatility in today’s dynamic market. Many businesses are uncertain about their future prospects and are hesitant to hire full-time employees. In such an environment, gig work provides a flexible, cost-effective alternative that allows businesses to scale up or down as needed. 

Success of gig operations: The past trend has demonstrated the success of gig operations, whether in jobs that require low competence or very high competence. For example, ride-sharing platforms such as Uber have revolutionized the transportation industry, while freelance websites like Upwork and Fiverr have made it easy for individuals to offer their skills and services to a global market. The success of these platforms has inspired the emergence of gig work across a variety of industries, from healthcare to marketing. 

Access to larger talent pool: According to Pooja Velhal, Head Talent, L’ship, OD, Culture at Schaeffler, “Gig workforce has emerged as an important talent management strategy for organizations.” Companies are able to quickly source freelancers or independent contractors for a specific task or project. It enables them to access global talent with a wider range of skills and expertise. 

Challenges and Opportunities for Job Seekers

Gig workers often have to deal with fluctuating and delayed payouts due to the irregular nature of their job. They typically do not have access to the same benefits and security as full-time employees, such as healthcare, retirement plans, and paid leaves. Furthermore, in the current times, gig workers also face the challenges of limited job opportunities. Perhaps a Recruitment Process Outsourcing organisation can help with more opportunities.

Even though gig work has its challenges, the future of job seekers looks bright. Organizations are preparing for the rise of gig work and are getting the groundwork done to induce this mode of operations in the next 3-6 months. They are investing in technologies and processes that will enable them to seamlessly integrate gig workers into their operations, including talent marketplaces, digital onboarding, and training programs. Thus, the scale of gig operations will pick up the pace by Q3 2024.  

Gig work platforms like Awign provide abundant opportunities for workers across India. With over 15L gig partners and 11 crore completed projects, Awign has become a reliable platform for gig work. The gig economy is expanding beyond blue-collar jobs, with a 240% increase in white-collar or high-skilled gig workers, especially in tech roles.  

Top gig work categories include Auditing, Invigilation, and Data operations, and there is a significant rise in gig work participation from Tier 2 and 3 cities. 

Additionally, there has been a 187% increase in women gig partner registrations. The government has taken steps to safeguard the future of gig work in India through the Social Security Code of 2020, which includes extending social security measures and introducing gratuity for gig workers. 

The Way Forward

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The future depends on what you do today.”  In the context of gig work, this quote emphasizes the importance of taking action to build your skills and establish your personal brand. This involves investing in upskilling and training to develop your expertise, building a strong online presence to showcase your work and attract clients, as well as carefully reviewing the terms of any contracts or agreements before accepting work. 

About the Author

Pankaj Bansal is the Co- founder of Taggd and Work Universe (a Fund investing in jobs and work tech). He is a non-executive director at Karmayogi Bharat (Capacity building or Civil Servants) and many other startups. Follow him on Twitter at @pankajbansalPB.  

By Pankaj Bansal

Co-founder of Taggd and Work Universe

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