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These days, there's increasing murmur and chatter about "automation" making several types of jobs redundant in the future - not in the distant future - but in the foreseeable future, something in the 3-5 years horizon, and beyond. More jobs are likely to be automated in the future as a result of the application of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things.
While nobody can predict the future accurately, and we have to take all predictions with a pinch-of-salt, there is nevertheless going to be significant change in the job market in the coming years. Traditional jobs that are routine in nature are more likely to be automated by technology, and there is likely to be job losses as a result of automation over the years, though new types of jobs may take the place of old ones.
In India, a large youth population, especially those who are employed in low-skilled and routine jobs could bear the brunt of automation and job losses, if it happens on large scale, though it is likely that the changes will play out gradually over several years.
Jobs in the IT & ITES sectors (BPO, KPO) are already facing automation to a greater extent than before. India's IT & ITES industry which has traditionally focused on offering low-end IT services to the western markets using head-count as the basis to grow their businesses could be hit harder by automation in the medium term, unless these companies re-focus and re-skill their employees to take advantage of automation. Future jobs will likely require more complex skills and greater creativity to perform. While some big IT firms have already realized what is going to hit them in the face soon and have started taking re-skilling, re-training and remediation actions among their employee-base, more needs to be done to avoid the inevitable.
At the same time, it is just not possible to add more and more jobs in a short span of a few years to provide employment to our growing youth population, and to those mid-career professionals who might be affected by job losses in the future. As a country, we have to move beyond the mind-set of offering low-end IT / ITES services with larger head-counts to the western markets. Instead, we need to focus on developing an environment and eco-system based on innovation and creativity, both out of necessity, and to be recognized as a leader in the new and emerging world order. In addition, there is a need to create a larger domestic market for IT products & services than ever before. This should spur larger number of entrepreneurs in the coming years. In addition, our formal and informal education system including schools, universities, and private training institutes need to focus on offering innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship related courses to a greater extent and at affordable cost to the masses, instead of offering traditional courses and training programmes targeted at making a student 'job-ready'.
We as a nation are good at jugaad and it has its rightful place in the scheme of things. However, amongst the 'educated' masses, one of the key reasons for lack of significant creativity and innovation (here I am talking of innovations that get commercialized or scaled up to benefit the larger society) is our educational system that has made rote-learning a specialty, where the sole intention is to pass exam, get a certificate and use the certificate to get a job. Most students who come out of such an educational system lack hands-on and creative approach to problem solving, not just at their jobs, but also outside of the job environment. The rote-learning approach has made the mind set into a mold, and it is often hard to get out of this mold - for most people, if not for all. The nature of low-end and routine jobs also unfortunately require a rote approach to perform. As a result, people in such jobs live their job lives in a routine manner - going about the same job day-in-and-day-out, lacking in creativity and the joy that would otherwise come from doing creative work. There is a need to encourage and support innovation and creativity not only on jobs, but also at an early age in schools, colleges, and at home so that students, or working professionals take active interest in what they are learning / doing and contribute creatively to the outcome. It is then that people are unafraid of change. They can not only take a job loss head-on, but also move-on in life confidently.
The second reason is that most people lack the necessary skills, knowledge, funds, connects or wherewithal to commercialize or scale up their innovations even if they come up with one. As a result, many interesting ideas die an early death.
Things are changing though. We find greater number of innovation focused incubators in colleges, universities, business schools and corporate companies these days. However, innovation & incubation spaces for the common man or the general public are almost non-existent, except in some pockets catering to a narrow cross-section of people.
The third reason is that our traditional educational institutions and corporate companies operate in silos to a large extent. While there are few exchange of ideas and cooperation between organizations, only a few individuals benefit in the process. A student in a b-grade school, or a lower-rung employee with a game-changing idea but lacking in the clout, influence or push doesn't get the opportunity to take his/her idea forward.
It is also a fact that our students are not taught at an early age the art of working in teams, how to network with people, how to productively engage with others towards achieving a common and worthy goal. These interpersonal and social skills are as important and required for success as is innovation.
The fourth reason is that of time and effort. For a man who has a full-time job to feed his family, it is difficult to invest significant time and effort on innovative or creative pursuits. There is a need to make innovating something a simple and enjoyable affair, one that doesn’t necessarily have to take a lot of time, effort or involve complexity.
We are known for slogging it out at work (especially in the IT & ITES industry), often working long hours and also on weekends to meet deadlines. However, for innovation and creativity to flourish, one needs time and space to relax and think fresh. A new idea invariably pops up in the head when one is able to relax and take a step back from the thick-of-things and look at the problem from a new perspective. This requires people to free themselves from the drudgery of every day work and set aside space and time consciously for creative activities and engagements. This is a need, not a luxury anymore - considering the changing nature of the job market in the near future.
The fifth reason is that of affordability. If innovation is a costly affair, how many people will be willing to invest their limited and hard-earned money on innovative or creative interests? They have bills to pay every month. So, innovation is never a priority if it is an expensive affair. There is a need to make innovation affordable to the masses if it has to pick up on a large scale.
For innovation and creativity to become a mass movement in our country, all the reasons identified above needs to be dealt with effectively. While every formal organization, be it an educational institute or a corporate company has limitations due to their rigid structures and narrowly defined goals, it is the informal, innovation focused grass-roots initiatives and entities that can play a much greater role in rapidly fostering a culture of innovation and creativity in our country since they are nimble, and driven by passionate people.
One way to enable this is to have a number of innovation centres or Maker Spaces open for the public in every community. These maker spaces need to mushroom in every area of the city, town and village, if not in every street to make a big difference over time. They can cater to the people in their own communities and operate for profit, or for a social cause. The maker spaces have to provide space, support and confidence for an uninitiated student, or an inquisitive common man to participate in the innovation process, get their hands wet, tinker with things, make and break things, try and experiment with new things, build creative things, take risks, fail-fast, learn fast, etc. but do something creative. Success will come sooner or later for people who pursue their ideas diligently and learn as they go along.
By bringing people from diverse skills, knowledge, cultures and backgrounds together, these maker spaces can allow people to network with each other, exchange ideas, build an inter-disciplinary team where everyone brings different skill-sets to the table, and innovate together.
The maker spaces can go a step further in offering short-term courses on innovation such as idea incubation, prototyping, solutionizing, scaling up and commercializing so that the innovators are also acquainted with the basics of what it takes to scale up their idea and take it to the market.
Mind you, I am not talking about technology or product focused maker spaces alone. One can have non-tech maker spaces too, as long as they encourage creativity & innovation and is open to the public. Some of them can even be “Thinker Spaces” where you pick up a topic and think things out in depth along with similar like-minded individuals, and create something new as a result of your out-of-the-box thinking. These thinker spaces have to facilitate free and open discussion on a topic from multiple angles, as otherwise, we have to tendency to get cocooned into looking at a thing from a unidirectional perspective, thereby loosing out on unconventional ideas that may have significant value if implemented.
Everyone has creative potential. You may or may not be an innovator right now, but by starting this initiative, you can be one, and also help others become innovators. With a slight push and a bit of support, anyone can become an innovator. If you aren't ready for this yet, you can find a maker space in your school, city or locality and start participating in it, at least in your spare time. Soon, the taste of creativity will liberate you from your shackles and empower you to chase your dreams unafraid.
Infact, Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) in your school is the best maker space, using which you can give wings to your creative dreams.