While 2021 has been the year of revival for several industries amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, it was also a year of many firsts. Adoption of technology across sectors redoubled while more and more companies transformed their organisational strategies and goals to accommodate the new normal. The need for skilling and upskilling reached a new high, with an increasing number of recruiters on the hunt for skilled professionals, in the wake of the Great Shuffle and the employment crisis in India.
According to Monster.com (a Quess company), the world’s first online recruiting platform and India’s digital career solutions provider, industries such as banking/financial services, insurance (BFSI), production and manufacturing, and telecom/ISP paved the way to recovery in the past year.
A year-on-year comparison indicates that industries such as banking/financial services, insurance (31 per cent), production and manufacturing (31 per cent), telecom/ISP (27 per cent), automotive/ancillaries/tyres (25 per cent), and IT-Hardware Software (23 per cent) witnessed the highest percentage point growth (Dec 2021 vs Dec 2020). The growth in BFSI could be accounted for by the Big Data Revolution and integration of digital banking, leading to higher demand for jobs in the sector, while the IT sector has sailed through with technology transformation and growing demand for professionals adept in new-age digital skills. Growth in manufacturing, telecom, and automotive industries could be attributed to policy initiatives by the government such as the PLI schemes in manufacturing, auto, as well as telecom reforms.
The travel and tourism industry in India, despite the initial hurdles of the pandemic and multiple lockdowns, began to recover slowly over the last year with a five per cent point growth in 2021. With seasonal festive hiring in November, and decline of consecutive lockdowns, the industry finally saw revival at a steady pace. Several trends dominated the industry last year such as “staycations”, “workations”, and “revenge travel” acting as stimulus for talent demand.
Bangalore (42 per cent) leads the way, among metro cities, with the highest percentage point growth in hiring demand on account of the increased demand for professionals in the BFSI and IT industry. Chennai (30 per cent), Pune (29 per cent), Hyderabad (24 per cent), and Mumbai (20 per cent) follow as the top cities for hiring among 13 cities monitored by Monster.com. It is interesting to note that Chennai witnessed an uptick for professionals in Advertising, Market Research, PR, as well as BFSI and Telecom industries. The spike in hiring in metros over the last year could be credited to positive hybrid workforce sentiments, which is bound to be further implemented given the rising Omicron cases in India.
In 2021, functions such as Senior Management (36 per cent), software, hardware, telecom (30 per cent), HR and admin (22 per cent), finance and accounts (19 per cent), and hospitality and travel (12 per cent) saw the highest incline in hiring intent. Senior Management positions observed an upsurge in demand due to restructuring of company hierarchies and changes in top leadership, while HR and admin roles saw an uptick to bridge the demand gap created over the first wave of the pandemic characterised by massive layouts for HR roles. Given the growth in Indian IT, roles in Software, hardware and telecom have witnessed an upswing, while HR and admin functions saw growth with return to office trends. It is also notable that with the revival of the travel and tourism industry in India, roles in hospitality and travel have bounced back with positive growth numbers.
Sekhar Garisa, CEO, Monster.com, a Quess company said, “The year 2021 was definitely a year of recovery. As we step into the new year, we are optimistic about paving the way for better employment opportunities in 2022. The future of work is location-agnostic and hybrid, with increased skilling initiatives being undertaken by both employers and employees. Further, leading tech-enabled industries such as IT, fintech, BFSI, and crypto will continue to flourish with talent demand spikes. It is also interesting to note that employee flexibility would be critical towards retaining talent in the future, and the Great Shuffle is a reinforcement of how the huge demand in the jobs market is opening the door for employees to select a career of their choice.”