Reskill to keep your job in the future workforce

The top roles that require reinvention:

1. Manual Testing: Technology: A tester works with results to provide inputs to product development teams on vulnerabilities and also interacts closely with the architect, development, integration, user interface and implementation teams. What is bringing disruption to the space is automation. “More and more jobs are likely to get reinvented with automation. Tech companies in the US have shed about 63,000 jobs this year alone,” said Kunal Sen, senior vice president, TeamLease. With the rise in complexity of technology, automated testing will stay and grow.

2. Digital Architect: This is the fastest-growing field in the information industry. An enterprise architect is required to shape solutions for clients and provide the delivery of it. Digital technologies have evolved from Web technologies but taken a form of enterprise applications at present. The role is necessary for integration, ERP, SCM, ecommerce, etc. A digital architect must know Java: Servlets, JSF, Spring, JUnit, Hibernate, Log4j or other logging framework. This skillset is evolving to add understanding Design Patterns, XP, .NET, Java/J2EE or similar industry standards.

A person with 15 years of work experience in this function can draw Rs 45-60 lakh a year in salary, said Shiv Agarwal, managing director at ABC Consultants.

3. Product Manager in FMCG sector: Traditional forms of delivery for FMCG managers i.e., the way they reach out to the consumer, is changing and that requires reskilling. People who have branding skills for FMCG are valuable to the ecommerce space as well. Ecommerce requires social media connect. Someone who heads a product on a website is responsible for this delivery, unlike traditional FMCG product managers who never did this. Their responsibilities include point of sale, branding and dealer distributor work. Salaries have changed dramatically here and job changes can bring a 30-35% increase in salaries. ESOPs also come with this profile.

4. Data Analyst in FMCG sector: FMCG companies — and indeed most companies across sectors — are focusing heavily on data analytics as a function, which means the profile of a data analyst is undergoing major reinvention.

“The role of a data analyst is itself undergoing a sea change, primarily because better technology is available now to aid in decision-making,” said Sumit Mitra, head of group human resources and corporate services at GILAC.

Companies require employees working in this role to analyse how data can be useful. Today’s data analysts need to be able to identify trends quickly, which, in turn, will ensure the company can leverage these to its best benefit. There is currently a demand-supply gap for this role.

5. Chief Digital Officer in BFSI sector: Nearly a decade ago, when banks and financial institutions started pushing online connectivity tentatively, the role of the chief digital officer came into the picture. His job was to oversee digitisation of core banking processes, ensure smooth functioning of ERP software and speedy transactions. With greater efficiency and quick development on the digital front, it has evolved into one that has manifold responsibilities today.

“They are now responsible for looking not just after payments and transactions, but also acquisitions, engagement, and customer service — all of which are done through the digital medium,” said Deodutta Kurane, group president for human capital management at YES Bank.

At senior levels in this function, one can expect salaries upwards of Rs 1.5 crore, compared with about Rs 75 lakh four years ago.

6. Project Manager in infra sector: There are fewer changes in infrastructure jobs compared with a sector like FMCG, said S Venkatesh, president of group HR at the RPG Group. But the whole project cycle is getting tighter so there is pressure on business managers to fill up product timeline. “Engineering procurement construction or EPC projects have to be delivered not just on time but have to be profitable as well. Reskilling is happening in project processes. All of these have to follow a templatised process and follow a project guideline,” he said.

Salaries haven’t dramatically changed in this space. But a lot of Chinese and Indian companies are going to Latin American markets since they enjoy cost advantage in material and contracts — so, people will have to learn to live and work in new geographies.

7. UX Designers in Technology: Today’s user experience designers are fusionists who have evolved the field of UX from stylistic endeavor to one that solves spiky technology and social problems. “We’re moving into things like robotics and autonomous car driving, so one can’t be stuck on UX and visual design skills any longer. Employees in the field of design should augment their skills and correlate with fields like affective science, machine learning, contextual intelligence, environmental and material design, etc., and the talent to merge product and service design,” said Mohan Krishnaraj, global head – Litehouse (The User Experience Design Group) at Harman Connected Services.

This article was published in Economic Times