77% CXOs in India to spend more time on upskilling

Companies are increasingly realising that upskilling staff is the only way they can stay relevant today. A recent report said that 77% CXOs in India are planning to spend more time on upskilling themselves as well as their employees and 72% of individual contributors said that they plan to spend more time learning in the coming year. 

The report by Simplilearn, an online bootcamp offering digital skills training, titled: 2022 State of Upskilling Midyear Learner Survey, also said that data science and project management were the top skills in demand for upskilling. 

While there is some uncertainty about continued economic recovery and the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, CXOs and department heads are optimistic about recovery from the pandemic. People in large companies (5,000 to 9,999 employees) are optimistic about the pandemic ending but somewhat less certain about economic recovery, said the report.  

Will Wei Lin, Chief Marketing Officer, Simplilearn, believes that digital transformation has come a long way from the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and there is a sense of optimism in 2022 in terms of continued learning.  

“Enterprises today understand the need to have a digitally-skilled workforce and what is interesting is that the desire to upskill is prevalent across levels and not limited to entry-level employees,” said Lin.  

At the same time, the ongoing competition for tech talent has persuaded some organisations to hire candidates who demonstrate good soft skills and a willingness to learn new technology skills to match the demands of their new positions. As Lin noted, individuals who demonstrate responsibility for their own skill development and a history of ongoing learning are better positioned to compete for open jobs and command higher salaries.  

Soft skills or personality traits and behaviours and not just technical or ‘hard’ skills, about the knowledge you possess is playing a big role, the report said. 

An August 9, 2022 report by job site, Indeed, also listed ‘growth mindset, creativity and critical thinking, among the top three skills employers are looking for in candidates including those from IT and engineering background. 

In the 75% of employees in very small firms (fewer than 50 employees) and 73% of people in very large firms (over 10,000 employees) said that they were planning to spend more time learning in the coming year. One inference from this finding is that small firms' employees need to keep their skills current with emerging technologies and want a well-rounded skill set. Another insight is that large enterprises value continuous learning and encourage their employees to refresh their skills.    

Scarcity of critical skills however continues to be a hindrance. While 37% of respondents cited lacking skill certifications or new skills their jobs required as an obstacle to career growth, 18% cited a lack of soft skills like verbal and written communication, supervisory skills, and presentation.  

However, the silver lining is, 28% of the respondents who were planning to do better in their current roles and 30% of those who were looking to pivot to a new career showed interest in skills such as data science, digital marketing, and project management.    

Last month, US-based staffing services firm, NLB Services also said that skillsets around data analytics, cybersecurity, DevOps, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) would witness a surge in demand by at least 35%-40% this quarter and beyond and that upskilling on these and more skillsets across enterprises would continue to be the need of the hour.