Technological progress is disrupting existing work systems in India. To manage this disruption, investments in lifelong learning and worker training are needed to help workers gain new skills. A social protection system is also required to support workers. While companies expect technology to create new jobs, skills gaps present a barrier to technology adoption. Companies plan to address this through retraining workers or having them learn new skills on the job. Preparing India's workforce for the future will require focused efforts on education, skills development, and ensuring opportunities for women and other groups.

1. THE FUTURE OF WORK: PREPARING
FOR DISRUPTION
Final Project

2. How the nature of work is changing in INDIA
Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. New ways of production are
markets expand, and societies evolve. But some changes provoke more attention than
in part due to the vast uncertainty involved in making predictions about the future.
Technological progress disrupts existing systems. A new social contract is needed to smooth
the transition and guard against rising inequality. Significant investments in human capital
throughout a person’s lifecycle are vital to this effort. If workers are to stay competitive
machines they need to train or retool existing skills. A social protection system that includes a
minimum basic level of protection for workers and citizens can complement new forms of
employment.
Companies in India are optimistic about the future and are open to the possibilities
by new technologies and digitisation which is likely to stimulate innovation and adoption of
new technology and drive transformation, growth and progress.

4. Key Insights
Companies anticipate job creation not job loss: Contrary to widespread concern that machines
and technology are displacing human workers, companies are hiring additional workers owing to
the adoption of industrial technologies and machinery in the last five years and they expect this
trend to continue in the medium term. If managed carefully, technological disruptions in India can
in fact lead to the creation of sufficient gainful employment opportunities for the growing
age population.
Companies recognise the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data: Companies have
reported that aspects of IoT are present in their companies or that they are planning to introduce
aspects of it in the next five years. Similarly, there is a growing trend of the use of big data.
Skills gaps and financial constraints are the main barriers to technology adoption: Companies
reported a lack of know-how among their employees as the most important barrier to
adoption along with lack of investment capital in newer technologies.
Retraining and learning on the job to address changing skill requirements: Companies plan to
address gaps in knowledge and skills internally through retraining existing workers in new
capabilities, or having employees learn new requisite skills on the job.

5. Companies are hiring, but not women: The inclusion of women in the labour market in India is both a social
and an economic imperative. The IMF estimates that India would be 27 percent richer if there was equal
participation of women in the workforce. Despite years of high growth in India, women are severely under-
represented in the labour market. In fact, India has seen a decline in female labour-force participation in
decades. Today, it stands at a mere 27 percent. This is one of the lowest in the world, with a global average of
49 percent.
Contractualisation is increasing: The drivers of contractualisation include stringent labour regulations,
the wage differential between permanent workers and contract workers (which is one and a half times
greater for permanent workers on average), increasing import competition, and the lack of bargaining power
of contract workers compared to that of the unionised and regular workforce.
There is a significant need to rethink worker protections, security and benefits: The existing provisions of
worker protection and benefits like paid annual leave, paid sick leave, both for permanent and contract
workers, is grossly insufficient.
An independent future: Independent work is on the rise in many advanced economies across Europe and the
United States. Similarly in India, freelancing is becoming increasingly common. For individuals, however,
working as a freelance worker has both advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages include
flexibility in working hours, the ability to work remotely, and the autonomy and control that self-employment
enables. On the other hand, work hours can be long and unpredictable, diminished employment rights such
paid sick leave etc.

6. Way Forward
 Economic growth is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for job creation. It is
estimated that India must create more than 8.4 million jobs a year to maintain its current
employment rate. With the current rate of job creation per percentage point of economic
growth, the country will need to grow at a rate of more than 10 percent. India should
invest heavily into Human Capital through Government organisations and private
partnership which can fulfil the job requirements in Manufacturing, Services and
Agricultural sector.
 Creation of decent jobs with better wages, security, protections and safety, are necessary
improving individual and household welfare and well-being.
 It is high time to ensure equal opportunities for women, youth and other marginalised
communities who were previously unable to participate equally in the paid economy.
 India needs to establish an ecosystem better equipped to prepare the workforce for
changing skill and educational requirements.
 Creation of an inclusive policy environment which balances the need for job creation with
the interests of workers is also urgently required.

8. What your country/sector governments can do to prepare and support their workforces.
Country - INDIA
 The overall job landscape in the country is evolving rapidly. Current job surveys that focus on
in the traditional sectors no longer provide an accurate representation of job creation. Growth of e-
commerce and technology-based sectors is leading to the creation of new job ecosystems, which are
becoming a large source of employment. Informal employment in sectors such as infrastructure and retail
are extremely large and continues to rise. Given the Government’s large investments in highways,
renewable energy, urban transport, shipping, affordable housing, smart cities, Swachh Bharat, rural roads
program, national waterways, airports and industrial corridors, etc., infrastructure has become one of the
largest creators of jobs in the country. The overall push for entrepreneurship through schemes such as
Stand-Up India, Start-Up India is also beginning to positively impact jobs and opportunities for livelihood.
 The formal education system in India is producing enough engineers and doctors to cater for the
needs of the 1.3-plus billion population. Sadly, many of these highly trained people do not end up
practising what they are taught, because of the lack of core jobs available.
 Investment in human capital, particularly early childhood education, to develop high-order cognitive and
socio - behavioural skills in addition to foundational skills.
 The hungry IT service sector has been quick to bring people into its workforce by providing so called
security” and a “fast growing” job environment. This longstanding trend is, however, changing fast, as
shown by massive layoffs in the last few years. These have mainly been due to jobs relocating to regions
with lower labour costs, and the rise of automation in the fields of IT testing and programming.

9. Skills mismatch
 Hundreds of thousands of Indians now find themselves back on the job market, with skills
employers do not want. There is an urgent need for these young people to upskill themselves
stay relevant in today’s fast-changing workplace.
 Growing interest among companies in investing in fields such as artificial intelligence, machine
learning, 3D printing, robotics, automation and data processing, mean that there are enough
new job opportunities for young people in India, which now has an average age of below 25.
 However, the challenge is that those skills that will be critical to most jobs in the future, are not
what the country’s young people are currently equipped with.
 There is an abundance of young minds in India and they are looking for new opportunities.
When empowered with the right skills and jobs, they can propel India to be a global economic
and knowledge power.
Challenges
 The challenge then is to upskill the existing Indian workforce and prepare the future workforce
with the skillsets needed to be a part of the disruptive industries of the future.
 The government runs different educational programmes for nurturing different specific
vocational skillsets in students, and these targeted programmes have paid off.

10. Bold goal
 The Indian government has a bold target of creating 100 million new jobs by 2022, and
ensuring the manufacturing economy contributes to 25% of the country’s GDP.
 Currently, about one million people enter the workforce every month in India, but only
around 10,000 new jobs are created. The manufacturing sector currently contributes to
about 16% of the country’s GDP, but has the biggest potential to create value-added
collar jobs that can strengthen the economy and help achieve India's goal of being a
manufacturing superpower.
 Globally renowned automotive, aeronautics and aerospace companies are already
towards setting up key manufacturing units in India to cater to the growing needs of the
country and the South Asian region. Favourable foreign direct investment policies and
government policies have already attracted key global private-sector job creators. It is
time to upskill and reskill the Indian population, so they make the best of this upcoming
opportunity. Importing key talent like the US did in the late 20th century is not an option,
since India is already overpopulated and we need to provide enough opportunities for
large national talent pool.

11. Innovation
 The Department of Science and Technology, India, has embarked on the journey to create a favourable
environment at the university level to kindle the maker spirit, and ensure young students find innovative
solutions to local problems specific to the Indian sub-continent. By setting up makerspaces and
centres, the government is focussing on maximizing the potential of young minds.
 The government’s vision for “Make in India” is a positive step towards helping the transition from being an
IT-service-powered economy, as the world sees it, to a manufacturing hub producing quality products for
the world. There are approximately 200-250 government-funded incubation centres across the country,
there are plans to scale this up to 350 centres by next year. The goal is to nurture many more younger
entrepreneurial minds across the country. These centres, along with the availability of seed investment
grants, could help turn many risk-averse Indians into entrepreneurs, who could, in turn, power the
young and growing economy.
Unique approach
 The uniqueness of Indian innovations is the approach of building solutions at low-cost, while ensuring
durability.
 The Jaipur Foot, a low-cost prosthetic, indigenously developed in India for the world market is one such
example. It was voted as one of the 50 best inventions in the world by TIME magazine in 2009, and has
allowed millions of below-the-knee amputees around the world to walk again, all thanks to a prosthetic
costing less than $10.
 India is currently at number 101 among 130 countries in the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Human
Capital Report 2017. The report mentions 62% as the world average for human capital developed.

12. Human capital
 With a young population and favourable government policies promoting
and skill development in place, the effective execution of existing on-ground
could help India grow its human capital pool. Maximising the utilisation of our human
capital, while also providing local opportunities to grow people's careers in India, is a win-
win, that the central and state governments should collectively work towards.
 Unique and affordable healthcare devices to help provide quality healthcare to the
hundreds of millions living under the poverty line around the world, and innovative
products and solutions to educate many millions that lack access to a school or
can be India’s biggest contribution to the world. They can also help prepare Indian
to capitalise on the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, as well as help make the world more
socially inclusive.

14.  Source - https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/09/how-india-can-prepare-its-
workforce-for-the-jobs-of-tomorrow/
 https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-future-of-jobs-in-india/%24FILE/ey-
future-of-jobs-in-india.pdf
 http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/458940/world-development-report-
2019-the-changing-nature-of-work/
 https://www.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FoW-Digital.pdf
 https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/future-of-work-in-india-
report-by-wef