While some industries in India are worried over finding enough talent in the face of an expected staffing shortage, others are seemingly more optimistic.
According to The Hindustan Times, India’s financial sector is expected to add 140,000 jobs this year, and jobs in financial services will grow by 34%. The insurance and retail services businesses are also expanding quickly.
Indeed, financial services company Reliance Capital plans to add 39,000 people to its existing 11,000-worker company over the next two years.
The Mumbai, India-based company’s chairman, Anil Ambani, told the audience at the company’s general meeting that the “future growth of our company will be propelled by the quality of our human capital.”
The company plans to hire across India, through a “localized” recruiting policy and on-campus college tours.
However, recruiters in real estate, retail, healthcare, and private equity have more reasons to worry.
A new study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry says about 20 business sectors are finding shortages of both skilled and unskilled workers.
In the healthcare sector, the study found a dearth of qualified anesthetists, radiologists, gynecologists, and surgeons (particularly neurosurgeons), and nurses.
In 2005, India counted 592,215 doctors, with just 22,000 more being added each year. The report says India will need close to 1.2 million doctors by 2012, with a need for doctors to diversify from the major cities and move to lesser-paying rural area.
The study found that in biotechnology, there is a need for 80% more scientists with doctorates. The study also found a shortage of food-processing industry refrigeration mechanics, electricians, and agricultural scientists.
Based on feedback received from individual companies and industry associations, the study’s authors noted that these “shortages are of such a serious nature that it is imperative to take immediate corrective action to maintain the growth momentum of the economy.”
Despite the optimistic Times article and companies such as Reliance Capital, the Chamber of Commerce study still found troubling hiring trends in the banking and financial services sector. The survey notes a 90% shortage of risk managers; 65% shortage of IT professionals; 50% shortage of treasury managers; 75% shortage of credit operations professionals; and an 80% shortage each of financial analysts, wealth managers, and planning analysts.
India’s Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, recently stated his belief that while India will become the second-largest economy in the world, the country needs more investments in business, industry, and agriculture, as “we need not only technology and theory but also investments as investments alone will lead to rapid growth.”
“We can’t be satisfied with 3% growth like the European Union countries. We need to grow at 9% rate,” he said during a recent public address.