India: Post COVID-19 Period Will See Turnaround in Job Market

Once the COVID-19 dust settles down, a new order will emerge in the job market in India, according to analysts.

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According to Indian HR firms, gaming, over-the-top (OTT) services, work-from-home virtual teams, project management software, e-commerce, and edutech segments would see a steady increase in business.

"There will be hot jobs in these sectors," Francis Padamadan, senior director, RPO & BPS Practice, APAC, KellyOCG, said.

"Virtual medical tourism could take off to provide psychological aid and faster therapeutic healing to patients. Services and health sectors will see a spike," he added. 

Also, he said there would be increased demand for contract employees across delivery services, fulfillment centers, and contact centers to manage and support disaster management activities, sanitization, and cleaning work. But companies will have full-time employees in their core areas and across IT digital skills, online marketing, and content writing.

Experts say that microbiology and bio-technology, as segments, are expected to take off, as every organization would require the services of such people to advise and sensitize staff on microbes and how to deal with infections.

Such people will also be required for research by pharmaceutical companies, they added.

On the other hand, Jyoti Bowen Nath, managing partner, Claricent Partners said that "while start-ups and small to mid-sized companies have been badly hit by the crisis, the large cash-rich business houses are also facing the brunt."

"Most have gone on a hiring freeze, while many have revoked offers made to candidates. Campus offers have been put on hold, and similar stories are seen across the globe," she said, referring to the current situation in India.

However, pharma, medical equipment companies, and the whole digital and e-commerce segments are possibly the new 'sunrise' sectors as they are the need of the hour, she added.

"These are where the opportunities will be. Companies will need to quickly reinvent themselves and come up with new revenue streams. Service providers will need to come up with innovative offerings as well as pricing points," she highlighted.

For his part, Binno Joseph, director at Impetus360, said after the COVID-19 impact, a lot of self-employed people would be picking up assignments for a fee. At the same time, millennials will go for companies providing a superior experience as their approach to life is different than older generations.

"In the future, full-time jobs will be fewer. The new normal will be completely different from what the job market used to be," he added.