Reskilling to ensure relevance in a changing industry, is the answer to the layoffs in the IT sector.
The type of talent required by the industry is changing constantly. AI, machine learning and other technological disruptions are automating the industry. Companies are adopting these changes and reskilling their workforce. However, at the same time, many of the employees with obsolete skills are getting fired. The need is to re-skill oneself and remain relevant to the changes in the industry. This is the only cure to this layoff, especially in the IT sector.
International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore has launched a postgraduate diploma programme in software engineering in partnership with UpGrad, the skilling company. The aim of the programme is to equip working professionals, recently passed out from engineering colleges, with various software skills.
This is an 11-month online programme, which deals with topics, such as object oriented programming, data structures, algorithms, software engineering principles and mobile development.
S Sadagopan, director-IIITB, says that the IT industry is witnessing a huge change with automation and many digital and data-driven disruptions. While many people think that these disruptions will lead to job loss, he believes that these will bring new opportunities. Specifically, for the field of software engineering, he feels that the current crop of engineers needs to build a strong foundation in the core concepts of computer science.
The programme and its different modules are designed by faculty members of IIIT-B in consultation with UpGrad’s network of corporate partners, guest lecturers and industry speakers.
Ronnie Screwala and Mayank, who are the founders of UpGrad, say that the changes in technology and increasing automation will render around 30 per cent of the IT-sector workforce jobless.