Tech talent shortage: Cognizant offers premium allowance to its 40,000 digitally-savvy employees

Software services company Cognizant, in a bid to encourage employees to improve their skills in digital areas, has reportedly rolled out skills premium allowance, a media report said. The company has given the allowance to 40,000 digitally-savvy employees this year, The Times of India reported. [caption id=“attachment_1147935” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “Global demand for the skills we specialise in is increasing even as the tech talent shortage is growing. Skills premium allowance is one of the means towards that end and has come to include a wide range of digital skills and a growing number of employees…,” James Lennox, global chief people officer in Cognizant told the newspaper. According to a research including figures from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) over 60 percent of the engineers graduating from technical institutions in India remain unemployed. The skill gap is disrupting the hiring process in the IT industry, according to India Today. The once sunrise IT sector has been facing severe challenges globally and in India, with artificial intelligence (AI) taking over several jobs. In July, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged India Inc to ramp up spending on the creation of trained manpower in the country. The minister observed that there is a disconnect between the country’s education system and employability. He said the government has its own limitations, it can create a role model. “Government can show a pathway, it can partner with you (industry) but the industry has to (spend) for its own benefit, own profit margin, own sustainability,” he said. The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship minister said world experts are unanimous in saying that in the next 25 years, India is going to be the number one economy of the world, adding this is not possible without properly skilled manpower. With inputs from PTI