The Talentedge, an ed-tech firm offering live and interactive learning in a digital format, unveiled the Young India study conducted in association with Kantar TNS to identify emerging trends pertaining to career future of Young India.
As per Thomson Reuters by 2020, India is forecasted to be the youngest country in the world, with a median age of 29, and by 2025 about 20 per cent of the world’s working-age population will live in India.
The Young India study was conducted across tier I and tier II towns including Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, lucknow, Indore and Visakhapatnam, with an aim to gaze into India’s future and get a closer look at the aspirations and careers of the future workforce.
The study adopted a multi-pronged, modular approach to present a more holistic picture and the respondents included different youth cohorts including students, entrepreneurs, businessmen and early jobbers and students from Grade A and Grade B educational institutes. The study also includes insights from experts from different fields like sociology, career counseling, educational institutions and HR.
According to the study, unconventional and new career choices are here to stay. From a niche phenomenon, this trend is set to percolate down to the middle class.
Experts see this as leading to more creativity and innovation, but also caution that it requires much more efforts and diligence.
There could be a rise in off-beat careers in the future such as spa management, pet-grooming, gemology, pottery, music appreciation etc. Institutes will need to provide these offbeat subjects that are beyond the conventional topics.
The study further reveals that for young India, whilst brutal optimism is positive, there is also a need for the youth to equip themselves to be future ready. A basic conventional degree will remain to be essential. But, post that, they will need to enroll in courses to remain relevant, and be prepared to constantly up-scale their skills and adapt with changing times.
Analysis of data on online trends has shown that in recent times there has been a consistent increase in interest in online learning of 46 per cent over the past three years.
Certification courses have become more in vogue by about 68 per cent. Specific areas of interest amongst certification courses have been Analytics and Digital marketing, which have grown by 218 per cent and 419 per cent respectively. Employers will also have to come forward to impart relevant skillsets to their existing employees. This could be done by enrolling them in relevant courses either regular or online.
The study shows that the youth will have set expectations from their workplace. Many are already looking at entrepreneurship as the route to take, since it allows one to define their own work-life.
Experts feel that current frustration and exhaustion with corporate jobs is leading to more entrepreneurial mindset.