E-learning tops the chart of new-age hiring

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In the current situation, the use of technology has become inevitable as the pandemic has reshaped the education industry with digital learning models re-defining the future of education in India. As the recent National Education Policy has given a push to the EdTech space by defining a new era of digital learning, LinkedIn’s Economic Graph shares insights on the impact of digitisation and hiring talent with digital skills in the education sector in the country. The data reveals that E-learning space has been quick to embrace this change with the highest number of digital hires.

Here are some important findings:

Increase in demand for professionals with digital skills in the E-Learning space: There has been a 5x increase in demand for professionals with digital skills in the E-Learning space in India. It is interesting to see that while the demand of all other sectors saw a dip in demand for digital talent (starting Jan 2020), the education sector continued to see accelerated growth.

Increase in demand for professionals with technical skills and virtual capabilities: Owing to the new normal of virtual workplace, business developers and software engineers with digital skills are the fastest growing roles in the education sector. While disruptive skills such as artificial intelligence and programming is in demand, the requirement for key soft skills is equally important.

In 2020, the top 10 employers hiring digital professionals in the education sector are EdTech companies or online training portals.

Gender gap: The gender gap for digital talent is closing at a relatively slower rate in the education sector. While there has been a 24% growth in the proportion of women digital talent at country level (in 2020 compared to 2016), we do not see a similar pace in growth in hiring of female digital talent in the education industry: 8% growth in proportion of women digital talent in the education sector.

Skills expected: In 2020, 9 out of the top 10 unique skills held by digital professionals are related to programming skills (C,C++,Java, HTML) and disruptive tech skills (Artificial Intelligence). These skills are critical to build and develop online learning technologies.

Soft skills like leadership and communication are also of equal importance to enable business developers to sell and drive adoption of these technologies: 20% of digital professionals list soft skills on their profiles in 2020.

Impact on the workforce: Digital skills increases the hiring potential for Gen Z professionals in the education sector. Looking at the yearly trend of the age distribution of digital hires in the education sector revealed that the demand for Gen Z digital talent in the education industry is growing relatively faster than the overall demand for Gen Z digital talent in the country.

The education sector is also attracting more young digital talent. Between 2016 and 2020, we see a 1.5x higher growth in young hires in the education sector compared to all other sectors. With the Gen Z population mainly getting into entry level jobs, they are more susceptible to be hit by economic crises like the current pandemic. Hence upskilling Gen Z with digital skills not only increases their chances of being hired but also holds up their demand during economic crises like situations.

DHNS