The global capability centre (GCC) landscape in India has witnessed growth of dynamic proportions in recent years, capturing the imagination of the industry. With over 1,500 GCCs in India today employing over 1.6 million people—expected to grow to about 2,400 GCCs employing 4.5 million people by 2030—the ecosystem is a powerhouse of talent. GCCs are playing a pivotal role in shaping the industry and knowledge ecosystem.
GCCs have evolved over the last two decades from primarily service delivery to becoming global centres of value, excellence, innovation, and digital skills. With the demand for talent surging in recent years, especially with the need for high-end solutions and services using the latest emerging technologies, GCCs are helping bridge the demand-supply gap by providing highly skilled engineering, technology, and digital talent.
According to a study last year by consulting firm EY and skill assessment platform iMocha, there is an overwhelming shortage of tech talent worldwide. With job roles and skill needs changing rapidly, there is a pressing need for reskilling and ramping up technology skills, especially in the latest emerging areas, to stay competitive.
The report also says that India is one of the top technology talent markets, which is excellent news. Annually, over 1.5 million engineering students graduate from Indian colleges, specialising in diverse fields such as IT, mechanical, software, civil, and manufacturing. Moreover, the demand from employers for skills in emerging technologies like Internet of Things, cloud computing, and AI has driven our talent to pursue these areas. One of our advantages in the subcontinent is our vast talent pool, not only in the metros but also in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, where large global giants are looking to set up GCCs. Apart from this, our proficiency in English, adaptability across geographies and cultures, and soft skills like communication, problem-solving, and flexibility make our talent capable of taking on global roles and innovating for the future.
GCCs have indeed come a long way, with the constant need to evolve and progress in future-focused skill sets. One core element of this evolution has been the reduction of non-value-adding work, allowing the workforce to focus on more strategic tasks. This has naturally meant a need for constant upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, to stay ahead of the rapid pace of change in the industry around us.
Reskilling: A competitive advantage
Reskilling is a competitive advantage today for the GCC ecosystem in India, due to several reasons. One key factor is hybrid working, which has led to new ways of working, a need for digital skills, and increased use of digital platforms. GCCs have played a key role in reskilling their workforce to embrace digital tools and platforms, enabling them to deliver leading-edge solutions for their parent firms and customers.
With the growing need to ensure their workforce embraces the latest skills to predict and prepare for the future, GCCs have adopted new-age platforms and tools in the talent marketplace. These tools perform skill gap analyses and help employees build actionable development plans. These innovations ensure GCC employees are future-ready and armed with the skills needed to thrive.
Strategies for effective reskilling
To enable continuous learning for their workforce, GCCs and their parent firms provide employees with a global universe of high-quality learning resources, online clubs, forums, and various other self-paced and classroom-based learning programmes catering to multiple skill areas.
Another differentiator at GCCs is their peer-to-peer learning programmes, where employees catalyse learning for one another. Whether focused on mainstream technology skills or in-demand AI skills, GCCs have an internal learning ecosystem where peers, subject matter experts, and leaders impart knowledge through dedicated learning hours each month. GCCs also customise learning programmes for diverse cohorts, enabling individuals to inspire and learn from one another.Experiential learning is another training avenue at GCCs, where employees are provided opportunities to work on real-world projects outside their day jobs, enabling them to acquire key skills. Additionally, GCCs nurture gig environments, allowing employees to collaborate across teams on new experimental projects that benefit the parent organisation.
These are just a few ways GCCs are focusing on creating an ecosystem of continuous learning, upskilling, and reskilling, ensuring their workforce is prepared for the future. The opportunities ahead are vast and exciting, with no shortage of prospects for growth at GCCs.