TechGig Geek Goddess, India's top event for women software programmers recently came to end.
At the event leading technologists from India threw light on various technology issues. One of the major topics of discussion was IT learning among the youth. Experts stated that it is very critical that IT education be promoted for the young population to prepare them for the jobs of the future.
Experts opined that while there is no dearth of jobs at the moment in IT, there is certainly a shortage of skills, which can be compensated if young students and professionals are given the right platforms to learn.
Keeping up with digital disruption
The disruption in enterprise technology has put great challenges in front of IT professionals as it gives them less time to learn and adapt to the changing technology landscape. Today, the IT industry has stacks of emerging technologies that have paved the way for a highly productive development ecosystem. To be future ready, programmers need to constantly relearn and without a sound learning base, this can prove extremely challenging, according to technology leaders.
"One of the big challenges in the technology industry is that a lot of disruption is happening. So, it's very important for people to unlearn and actually relearn something totally different and constantly keep doing that. How do we make sure that people don't stop learning and they stay current with technology," said Vidya Nagaraj, Vice President, Education Product Management & Services at Oracle India during the event.
"IT professionals need to learn things quickly as it's the demand of the time. Emerging technologies such as blockchain, ML and IoT are complex and require huge commitment to learn them in short periods of time. The deciding factor for any successful IT professional in future will be to win the race of learning and deliver code fast," said Sanjay Goyal, VP Head of Product and Technology at Times Internet.
Exposure to IT at early stage can address skill shortage
Every year, India produces about 8 lakh engineering graduates from more than 4390 colleges across the country. But, according to a 2017 research report by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), nearly 60 percent of all engineering graduates in India are unable to find reasonable employment after college. There are fundamental issues at the school and college level in India that many students are unable to perform at the professional level, say experts.
Director, Enterprise Systems Development at IBM
"We need to have programs at the tier-2 school level where we go and mentor students in schools. What we need to do from an industry perspective is take the different aspects of technology to the schools. Technology is not just about software coding, it's about building the overall tech design," said Sheenam Ohrie, VP, Enterprise, Data, & Mobility Engineering, Dell India.
"It's important that today's education must be in sync with what the tech industry needs are. Coding needs to be taught early in high school, so that students get exposure at an early age," according to Anita Biddappa, Director, Enterprise Systems Development at IBM.
Experts also highlighted the importance of internet learning in the process of becoming ready for the future. Internet programs and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) can provide free education in various technologies, and help professionals and students be in tune with changing technologies.