Indian IT industry short of specialists

Indian IT industry short of specialists

Indian IT industry short of specialists

The Indian information-technology (IT) industry is looking for computer specialists to fill thousands of jobs in the sector. The Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) predicts that more than 200,000 specialists will be needed by 2008.

Two years ago the influx of Indian IT specialists was extolled as being the solution to Europe’s lack of workers in the sector. Now the industry on the subcontinent is itself suffering from lack of employee selection on the job market. According to NASSCOM, 1.1 million software experts will be needed by 2008. At the moment, however, based on the current trend, there are only 885,000 in the workforce. That means that the industry will be 235,000 short.

The problem, says NASSCOM, stems from the education of the future workers. The Indian education system produces enough graduates – each year 1.54 million students graduate – yet the students do not have the necessary preparation for a future job in the IT industry.

NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik said: “The holes in their education are the main reasons for the shortage of qualified IT people.”