Kavitha has pursued her M.A. (History 2006) and Masters in Marketing Management (2013). Academically, she has been honored with “Kashinath Tribak Telang Gold Medal (2006)” and various prestigious awards and scholarships by University of Mumbai. She is passionate about industry-institute interaction and campus placements. She has also delivered various guest lectures in the area of campus placements and students grooming. So far, she has got published more than 16 research papers in various International and national journals, magazines and newspapers. Currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D. in the area of Management on the subject of “Disability and Employment in IT & BPO” Sectors.
As per India Skills report (2019), the last five years in India’s talent market could be termed as the most defining ones”. The report further states that the Indian workforce is estimated to increase to approximately 600 million by the year 2022 from the current 473 millions. As the workforce is continuously increasing by 27 %, it encourages the overall composition of unorganized sector & organized sector to change from 92 % to 8 % to 90 % (Organized sector) & 10 % (Unorganized sector) in 2022.
Today, the job market is dynamic and modern in its approach. Variety of external forces such as demographic dividends, globalization, automation, data analytics, and so on are changing our functions and approaches towards B-school’s talent landscape. Because of the emergence of new jobs and requirements, there is a different need of skills and expertise that will be required for success in the emerging environment. Therefore, it becomes imperative for corporate, academia, policy makers as well as the job seekers to understand the current market trends and prepare students to be job ready as per the market requirements.
Today, when we talk about “jobs” or “placements” then it is not limited to permanent placements. Today’s youth are ready to take risks, explore markets and create their own space. Time has gone when “sarkarinaukri” was a dream for everyone. Today’s youth look for “horizontal career growth” and explore multi- options or opportunities with themselves. The recent change/trends in Indian schemes related with labour market wherein lots of focus has been prioritized on Stand-up India, Startup India, Digital India and Entrepreneurship, there is an entirely new ecosystem of job ready. Infrastructure, smart cities, focuses on sustainable development is creating enough buzz among youth to develop their inclination towards unconventional sectors. However, with all the above mentioned changes, the demand for skills has also changed. All the traditional sectors equipped with modern technologies are coming up with new offers and profiles. Thus, it proves that there are lots of new changes and trends are emerging for B-School campus placements in terms of emergence of new sectors/job roles for campus placement hiring in 2019-20. Some of them are as follows:
- Automation industry: Technological advancements in automation industry is creating lots of changes in India’s information technology and business process outsourcing sectors. As per industry estimates, companies could hire up to 2.5 to 3 million more workers by 2025. today, the artificial intelligence, and machine learning have created an opportunity in the area of analytics, robotics, and cloud-based data management systems. Such sector has a very high space to grow in terms of market and packages.
- Digital Marketing: Lots of companies whether it is a start up or conventional firms know about the importance of social platforms. Though the initial package in this sector is low as compare to other sectors, it promises huge scope of growth and recognition for aspiring managers. companies are creating a separate and defined job role for digital marketer and look for management aspirants to make their career in this field.
- Business Consulting: Business consulting, considering as one of the most dynamic sectors does not restrict management students to get expertise in one domain. It provides an overall exposure in the general management subject therefore students are inclined towards consulting sectors. Though, it is a very demanding sector, it offers a good package, growth and enrichment in career for a long term.
- PR and branding firms: The 4.0 industrial revolution talks about collaboration and less about competitions. PR and branding firms enhances organization images, reputation and creates a database of clients for their business. Companies are in constant need of blogger, content writer who help businesses to plan their business, execute and measure their strategies to ensure a great success.
- Start-ups and entrepreneurship: As per NASSCOM reports, India will expand 3100 tech start-ups to 11,500 by 2020. The government efforts to encourage start up and SME’s are bringing lots of changes in job market. Startups not only provide the holistic development and growth to their employee, but also has a very impressive share of perks and incentives in their salary structure apart from monthly salary. We strongly feel that B-schools should leverage the opportunity and encourage students to explore their career in start-ups.
- Future of work is Gig work: As we know, gig work is a project based set up where a person is hired to deliver certain outcomes and gets paid for it. The gig worker can do multiple projects at one time. This is a flexible type of work which is gaining momentum in India. Lots of sectors like Media, Market research, Event agencies, PR & communications, Consultancies are in need of gig works and paying lucrative salary to students. The best advantage to be a gig worker is that it breaks the limit and obligation to an employee and provide an opportunity to minimize less on career sacrifices and explore more about themselves so that the best of their performance can come out.
- E-Commerce: We all are experiencing the power of E-commerce and their entrance into our daily activities and life. Today, it is one of the most promising sectors which offers not only the highest packages but the exposure as well in all areas. Many good e-commerce companies continue to look for multi-skilled talents and hire them through campuses. E-Commerce firms are looking for management students who specialize in operations for job roles like supply chain, logistics, vendor management, inventory management, delivery, and returns. Companies in the field of IT and ITES are looking to hire management students for their back-end operations to work for the parent companies in the areas such as banking, financial services and so on.
There are many other sectors like payment agencies, fintech, research, design, research and development which may also be explored to get the best placements through campus. Today the demand of employers in terms of required skills have also been changed as compare to the year 2018.
In 2018 (India Skills Report) wherein the companies were hiring students based, on in the areas of Learning Agility (13%), Domain Expertise (19%), Integrity and Values (15%), Interpersonal Skills (4%), Numerical and Logical Ability (10 %), Cultural Fitment (10%), Communication (14%), Adaptability (6%), and Result Orientation (9%). Today, in 2019, top 3 skills which employers look out for learning agility (40%), adaptability (35%) and English Language (25%). It is important for B-Schools to take a note of it and get ready for most successful year for B-School campus placements.