TimesJobs :: High Tea Live Chat Session :: Satyanarayanan Visvanathan
TimesJobs | May 13, 2020
COVID-19: Future of jobs in IT sector
TimesJobs: Welcome to the High Tea Chat Session. Mr. Satyanarayanan Visvanathan, Sr.VP-Head HR, and Head of Corporate Quality, CSS Corp will join the chat at 3 PM. Meanwhile, you can send your questions related to Future of jobs in IT sector. Kindly note your questions will be moderated and sent to the celebrity to answer. Questions already answered by the celebrity will not be entertained.
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Good afternoon to all of you in the chat room! Hope all of you and your family members are safe and positive. My name is Satyanarayanan, people call me Satya. This is my 31st year in the IT industry, having been with CMC Ltd, Diwan of Royal Court Muscat, Sultanate of Oman earlier. For the last 12 years, I have been with CSS Corp in different roles. I have extensively worked in the areas of Enterprise Application Development in different domains and headed the Global Delivery of different business units such as Engineering Services, Technology Support with CSS. Currently I am the Head of HR (Global) and Head of Corporate Quality. As Head of HR, I am reinforcing people practices and leading the transformational journey to a Digital HR. In my role as the Head of Quality, I provide an independent view of all our client engagements.
Pavitra : Hello Sir, afternoon how do see employment market change amid COVID-19 pandemic and after the lockdown?
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Hi Pavitra, good afternoon. Obviously, there are going to be a lot of changes. While there could be some threats and job churns in the near future, there are bound to be more opportunities coming up. People need to be agile in terms of mindset to position themselves for emerging scenarios. Keep sharpening your skills!
Lien : Hi Sir, greetings. I would like to know what kind of new jobs will emerge in the IT technology as technology has become a key driver to run the basic operations across the globe?
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Hi Lien, greetings to you! There is going to be a lot of thrust on “Self-reliance” in several areas such as Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Education, Healthcare. You as an IT professional have a tremendous opportunity to contribute in the mega projects in these domains. Whether it is a conventional skill (Java, Web, Mobile et al) or neo-modern (analytics, social media etc), all these are required to drive such initiatives successfully
Ila : Hi sir, goodafternoon, I would like to know how hiring scenario will change in new-age technologies such as AI, ML, etc. Which skills will be most sought after in these technologies?
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Hi Ila, good afternoon! Hiring is set to have a new ingredient – that of people working remotely. A lot of jobs could be delivered from home. We are seeing reports of Vision 2025 from TCS and other players. This means that geo restrictions and constraints would ease out both for the companies as as well as professionals. Not everything needs to be in new-age technologies as I mentioned earlier. AI, ML etc could play an important role for example in Healthcare. Take the Covid-19 situation, right from contact tracing to vaccine research, many aspects could be powerfully impacted by suitable deployment of AI, ML
Aditya : Hello sir, hope you are doing well. How job prospects for engineers will change in the overseas market as USA economy is struggling to retain its workforce? And how it will impact the Indian job market post COVID-19 lockdown?
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Hello Aditya. Am fine, thanks. Hope you are doing great. A number of geo-political aspects will have to settle down before a clear view emerges. It is certainly true that many countries will attempt self-reliance to some extent. At the same time, a readily available local talent pool would still remain an unresolved issue. With respect to India, there are potentially several positive changes that we could look for. The areas of focus that the nation wants, would need a lot of talented youngsters. IT professionals should be skilled and demonstrate flexibility in getting into the newer opportunities.
Krishna : Hello sir, afternoon. I’m a software engineer with an work experience of 2 years. Looking to change my job profile is it the right time to change it or should i wait till things get back on tracks? Kindly Suggest
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Hi Krishna, good afternoon! I am not sure, if your career opportunities in the current company are exhausted. While it is some trend these days to have a job switch every two years, it is important to note that a longer stint (say 5-7 years) could help in the longer run. If you have some compelling reason (personal or otherwise), you should possibly looking for a change. Otherwise, allow the choppy waters to settle down
Rohan : Hi sir, afternoon, In the wake of COVID-19 how talent demand among the companies will change? What key trends one will witness in coming times on talent front.
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Hello Rohan good afternoon. The Covid-19 impact on companies in US, Europe or other geos who have been outsourcing IT jobs, will influence the extent of outsourcing in the coming days. There could be a shrinkage. For example take Travel or Tourism, which already have a severe impact currently and to some extent in the near future. On the other hand, product companies (take Video conferencing products) see a boom. Networking products to the last mile would also set to have a surge. Such factors would directly have a demand impact on talent market.
Omi: Hi Sir, greetings. How the employment opportunities will change for freshers? How one can find a job amid and post COVID-19 pandemic
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Hi Omi, greetings to you. We are already seeing reports that freshers intake would continue in quite a lot of companies. Perhaps, there could be a delayed on-boarding in certain instances. Job search will have to continue as before, but as you do that please ensure that you are doing a continuous up-skilling. Remember, communication skills are equally vital for many jobs!
Neil : Afternoon sir, as the tech giants plan to work remotely, I would like to understand how the nature of jobs and what kind of skills will be in demand by them? Also, apart from core skills which other soft skills will take the center stage in getting a job?
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Hello Neil good afternoon. Nature of skills per se will not have a change. But if the job involves remote working, you should equip yourselves towards the same starting from your basic infrastructure (power, connectivity). Communication will gain further importance because of the fact that what is achieved during face to face meetings, may take more efforts and time in a virtual mode. Self-discipline would be valued!
TimesJobs: Thank you everyone for taking out time to participate in the session. Hope the session was useful for you. We regret that due to time constraint Mr. Visvanathan could not answer all questions. The chat transcript of the session will be made available for your future read, soon on the site.
Mr. Satyanarayanan : Greetings to all of you. It was a great pleasure interacting with you and sharing my thoughts. Stay Positive, Radiate Positivity!!
