In a major push towards skill development in the technology industry, ABB India, in collaboration with National Association of Software and Services Companies, has announced that the company is developing a standardised qualification criterion for the Internet of Things related job roles. This standardisation will help in bringing about uniformity and help in the evaluation of people while hiring for high-skilled jobs in IoT network communications and IoT cybersecurity.
According to Rajarshi Banerjee, the head of ABB Ability Customer Experience and Innovation – AMEA, the current requirement for the industry is a specialised set of skills beyond the traditional course curriculum.
He said, “During and post this COVID-19 chaos, virtual/digital is becoming integral to business operations. And therefore guidance in IoT areas of cybersecurity and network communication become all the more important for future talent development.”
With this collaboration, ABB has created qualification packs in order to define the competency standards that will provide a framework for schools, colleges, and universities to design their course curriculum to better conform to industry hiring standards.
These qualification packs have been approved by several government agencies like the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), and National Skills Qualifications Committee (NSQC. This will, in turn, will help in creating a pool of skilled candidates that companies across sectors could hire from.
Amit Aggarwal, the CEO, IT-ITES Sector Skills Council at NASSCOM, also stated that with the world getting increasingly connected, IoT has emerged as a prominent technology for future survival. And, as an increasing number of businesses are now adopting IoT technologies, the industry requires a qualified workforce who can deliver intelligent solutions for changing consumer and business behaviour.
According to NASSCOM report, approximately 40% of the country’s workforce needs to be re-skilled/ upskilled, if the businesses/ employees still wish to be relevant in the industry and work on innovative technologies like artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT), and machine learning. And because of this reason, the Indian government will popularise the initiative in universities across the country. This initiative will also help in bridging the prominent skill gap that currently exists in the industry, and will develop Future Skills Competency Standards to define the required skills to do jobs in emerging technologies.
