5G adoption to unlock wealth of opportunities for India's tech talent pool

A significant percentage of companies in India believe the advent of 5G will herald a transformative era in the world of work, unlocking a wealth of opportunities for India's tech talent pool, says a report.

According to the report by staffing company TeamLease Services, over 80 per cent of respondents believe that IT and banking and Financial Services will benefit from the 5G technology in terms of job creation and upskilling.

The report titled "India's 5G rollout: Revolutionising the People Supply Chain is based on responses of over 247 companies on the impact of 5G on the ecosystem and employment generation.

"With substantial investments, such as the PLI scheme allocating Rs 12,000 crore to the telecom sector, with approximately 25 per cent dedicated to creating new jobs, we are poised for a positive outlook on job creation and upskilling," TeamLease Services CEO - Staffing, Kartik Narayan said.

This will boost confidence to harness the potential of 5G, creating unprecedented job opportunities, driving innovation and shaping a transformative future, he added.

The adoption of 5G will have significant impact on industries such as BFSI (60 per cent), education (48 per cent), gaming (48 per cent) and retail and e-commerce (46 per cent), the report said.

On a year-on-year basis, 46 per cent of participants anticipate job creation ranging from 61 per cent to 80 per cent within the first year of 5G implementation.

"Telecommunications companies embracing 5G solutions present a promising growth opportunity. As telcos leverage the potential of 5G in network upgradation, migration, IoT/IIoT, mobility, network infrastructure, and network security, we anticipate increased hiring for specialised roles," Narayan said.

This advancement creates new opportunities and drives demand for roles such as technical content writers, networking engineers, AI/ML professionals, UX designers, cloud computing engineers, cybersecurity specialists, data science and analytical experts and more, he added.

The report, however, noted that the telecom industry is facing a considerable demand-supply gap of 28 per cent, which emphasises the urgent need for comprehensive upskilling and reskilling initiatives.

Encouragingly, 88 per cent of employees expressed a preference for upskilling, indicating a strong desire to enhance their existing skill sets, the report said.

Additionally, 11.2 per cent of employees showed a preference for reskilling, presenting significant opportunities in the job market for fresh talent, it added.

The report also highlighted the impact of 5G on job creation over the next few years, with 41 per cent of respondents expecting an impact of more than 80 per cent on job creation over the next three years of 5G rollout.

According to Narayan the impending 5G rollout is expected to lead to an 80 per cent increase in tech-related jobs.