Since its launch in 2015, the Digital India campaign has been a collective national mission, galvanising individuals, organisations and governmental authorities across the country. The gains have been tremendous, with technological advancements and digital transformation initiatives that have revolutionised public service delivery, vastly improved access to information, and created innumerable economic opportunities – including a robust startup ecosystem.
Software development, artificial intelligence, Big Data – these are the domains that countless young Indians now aspire to make their mark in. And there is certainly a massive and ever-increasing demand for talent in India’s booming digital economy. However, in order to fulfil this demand, these aspiring tech-workers need to have the right skills in order to truly be an asset to businesses and play an effective role in building Digital India. Let us take a closer look at a few of these key skills.
Data Analytics
Data lies at the heart of India’s digital transformation story. Digital platforms and channels generate vast volumes of data that are rich in business insights. Organisations that can effectively leverage this data will find it to be immensely valuable in terms of aiding their decision-making processes.
Data scientists and Big Data analysts have a crucial role to play in this regard, and are much sought after by businesses across sectors. Data science techniques, statistical theories, management of data sets and creation of data visualisation reports – these are critical skillsets for young professionals to develop, if they want to build a successful career in Data Analytics.
Web and mobile app development
Web and mobile app development is a skillset that is highly in demand. The focus is on development with new programming languages, such as Bootstrap, Angular, jQuery, Code Igniter, PHP and JavaScript. Knowledge of one or more of these programming languages will be an invaluable addition to an aspiring tech-worker’s portfolio. Developing an understanding of an end-user’s perspective of using web/mobile apps is also an immensely valuable skill.
Digital design
The success of any digital initiative lies in its ability to offer a seamless user experience. This encompasses everything that the user sees or interacts/engages with on a digital application – including the user interface (UI), user experience (UX), and the ‘flow’ or user journey for different scenarios on the application.
Good design is the key to ensuring these positive user experiences. The ability to understand requirements and transform them into a visually appealing and functional application will be highly sought after by tech firms. Aspiring digital designers should thus hone their UI/UX skills and build the capability to create effective and dynamic user experiences.
The increasing popularity of NFT’s (Non-Fungible Tokens) also opens another avenue of employment for designers who can create digital art.
Digital project management
Project management is a discipline that is decades old. However, the new-age digital project management requires a deep understanding of users’ behaviors, also their pain points while using digital platforms. Aspiring digital project managers therefore need to understand the objective behind creating a particular digital property and be prepared to take end-to-end ownership of projects – from planning, to implementation and beyond. To prepare for this role, young professionals should build their knowledge of methodologies such as SCRUM and AGILE.
Cybersecurity
The dark side of the growth of Digital India has been the parallel rise in cybercrime. Digital channels, if not secured properly, can be vulnerable to hackers and attackers who can penetrate systems to extract sensitive data. This makes cybersecurity a critical function for organisations and thus a powerful career option for aspiring tech-workers.
Endpoint security and identity & access management are some of the key cybersecurity areas in which young professionals should focus on developing their knowledge base. This will prove highly valuable in their efforts to secure a position in an organization’s IT security team. Ethical hacking is another avenue worth exploring, as it has become one of the most in-demand roles in the cybersecurity space.
Talent is the key
No economic or industrial revolution has ever been successful without skilled workers and the digital revolution is no exception to this trend. Over the past several years, the Digital India dream has already come a long way. Taking it to the next level will require industry and the government to significantly invest in developing talent capable of driving innovation, growth and prosperity.
