Sheer size of business operations in India and its economy today is going to make many believe in the great potential that the country has always represented. Soon it will overtake the economy of UK in size and top the chart by 2050. To run that kind of an economy, India will need a large workforce that is both talented and efficient. In the coming decade or so, the size of India’s workforce will surpass that of any other country. This will be made possible as 65% of India’s population is below the age of 35 years. The country has enough young blood and fuel to propel the engines of growth. So naturally and logically as well, it makes a lot of sense to be where the action is, i.e. India. The world will be looking up at India to set the pace and roadmap for them.

The current situation in not as encouraging for there are large gaping holes in the growth story painted above. When the current workforce is mapped against skill, talent and competencies, it does not score much. The picture is not so rosy and blurs the thought about acquiring any commanding position of superiority on the world economic front. You might have heard a phrase ‘knowledge is the key’ and it assumes a bigger contextual relevance in the present situation. If we dissect this phrase and understand its deeper meaning we will realise that this is a real show stopper. One factor that can become a ‘spanner in the works’ in unqualified workforce that lacks relevant skills. For example, till sometime back how many of us understood what digital marketing or data science was? Sufficiently and relevantly skilled people were in paucity though their demand was huge. Slowly and steadily, the gap between demand and supply was filled and today the situation is a lot better than it was about a decade ago.

Also, the job market will get more intense, aggressive and cut throat in the time to come. Only those who will remain relevantly armed with requisite skills will succeed and the others will be left behind and thrown out of the race. How well stocked and prepared for the future opportunities you can be is evident from the certified training programs that you have attended. This is the best chance at professional insurance against irrelevance.

One very pertinent and peculiar thing about the job market is that whenever demand of a particular skill arises, supply does not keep pace with it in the short term. This means that there is a time lag before the people with the required skills can become available for employment. This means that one needs to be quite circumspect of the changing trends and catch the leading winds to reduce the time lag. What do you do when you sight the impending change or the trend if there are no training programs that can address the skill deficit? The proliferation and readiness of the training organisations is the precursor to all new innovation. The present skills become irrelevant and obsolete so fast that one needs to keep honing them very often to remain relevant and employed.

A person without relevant skills is like a car without fuel, it takes you nowhere. What you will face is stagnation and retrenchment, disappointment and disillusionment. You may learn from my case, I realised that I was unable to connect with all the new terminology (and of course the business) of the changed business environment. I felt completely uncomfortable and out of place when this particular business was being discussed. What options did I have? For working professionals like me, it is absolutely annoying to quit our profession and undertake academic courses to upgrade our skills and knowledge. Not just this, it is also inconvenient to take up a weekend classroom course no matter how small as we have demanding work schedules for most part of the day including scheduled business telecalls with counterparts in other continents and domestic teams. The only way to solve the present problem is to enrol for a short-term online training program, for example, an 18-hour program leading to certification. Quick reskill is the mantra for success.    

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Online courses are highly efficient as trainess achieve much more in least time within the comfort of their homes, office and while travelling in public transport. These courses help to reduce the time lag between the need of the industry and the availability of trained professionals. For the working professional it gives them the opportunity to quickly upskill, remain relevant and retain the job. The online content is most relevant as well as specific as it provides a whole new perspective that includes a sound blend between theory and practice. One can choose a particular skill at a time and by attending a series of short term online programs one can complete a full curriculum. The program can be paced as per the need of the trainee. A hectic working week can accommodate an hour each day while 3 to 4 hours can be accommodated on weekends. An acquaintance of mine has taken up an online 30-hour course in big data and has received a certification. Today, not only she has become more effective in her present job but has become project lead with higher remuneration. Online courses ride on cutting edge technology and are therefore amenable to analytics. The digital revolution is fuelling the preference and proliferation of online mode of learning. The cost of training has reduced for the training organisation and hence for the trainee as well. Hence the need of the hour is to popularise online training programs. The online training providers are a boon for the country and the employees should necessarily take complete advantage of the opportunity they provide. The advantage of having a large work force will be lost and it may become our biggest liability if necessary skilling, re skilling is not done in good time.

So go ahead and assess your specific requirement and pick up an online training program that best suits your need.