Amidst tech disruptions and a weak macroeconomic environment prevailing across the globe, just 29 per cent of Indian freshers in white-collar jobs feel confident about retaining their jobs in FY25, said a report released on Monday.
According to the ‘Upskilling Trends Report 2024-25’ by edtech company Great Learning, job retention confidence plummeted to 62 per cent among Indian professionals in FY25, down from 71 per cent during the last financial year—a decline of nine percentage points.
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However, the report also found an increased interest in upskilling amongst the Indian white-collar workforce, with 85 per cent of professionals in India saying that they were planning to invest in upskilling in FY25.
Further, 79 per cent of the surveyed professionals said that upskilling was necessary for future-proofing their careers.
Upskilling had the highest importance among professionals with over 17 years of experience, with 92 per cent of such respondents attesting to the same, according to the report.
Additionally, professionals with engineering degrees and those employed in the IT, telecom, and tech sectors considered upskilling crucial for them.
“With industries in India undergoing rapid transformation due to technological disruptions and changing market dynamics, professionals are becoming more aware of the need to acquire newer specialised skills to meet employer expectations,” said the report.
Among key sectors, the intent to upskill in FY25 was highest among professionals from manufacturing, engineering, capital goods, and BFSI, according to the study.
Bangalore and Chennai were the two cities that displayed the highest intent to upskill this year compared to other metros in India, with 87 per cent of professionals planning to invest in upskilling in FY25 in both these cities.
One of the primary reasons that the professionals gave for upskilling was for career growth within their current organisation.
While 39 per cent of the respondents said they were motivated to upskill for career growth within their current organisation, 17 per cent said that they were driven by personal interest.
In terms of the hurdles to pursuing an upskilling programme, professionals said that being busy with office work is the most significant hurdle, with 34 per cent of them citing the same, while 19 per cent of the professionals cited financial constraints as a barrier.
Additionally, 14 per cent gave family and other social commitments as a reason why they can’t take out time for upskilling.
“Since last year, challenging economic conditions and an unstable geopolitical situation have made it difficult for many businesses to access capital and expand profitably. To stay competitive in this dynamic environment, continuous learning and upskilling are crucial to adapt and evolve. It is encouraging to see professionals adopting a proactive approach to navigate this disruption by acquiring specialised skills to meet evolving employer demands,” said Hari Krishnan Nair, co-founder of Great Learning.
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