Workers with advanced digital skills contribute $508B to India’s GDP: AWS study
Digital skills are providing immense economic value to India’s employers and workers. Workers in India who use advanced digital skills – including cloud architecture or software development – contribute an estimated $507.9 billion, Rs.10.9 trillion to India’s annual gross domestic product, according to a new research report by AWS. This is attributed to the 92% higher salaries that these workers earn compared to those with a similar education who do not use digital skills at work.
The Asia Pacific Digital Skills Study: The Economic Benefits of a Tech-Savvy Workforce, commissioned by AWS and conducted by Gallup, examined how building a technology-enabled workforce has significant benefits for workers, organisations, and the economy. More than 2,000 working adults and 769 employers were surveyed in India across a variety of public and private sector organisations and industries.
The study classifies basic digital skills as the ability to use email, word processors, other office productivity software, and social media. Intermediate digital skills include drag-and-drop website design, troubleshooting applications, and data analysis. Advanced digital skills include cloud architecture or maintenance, software or application development, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
The study found that advanced digital workers in India are benefitting from more than just a boost in their income. 91% of workers who use advanced digital skills express higher job satisfaction, compared to 74% of workers with intermediate skills and 70% of workers with basic digital skills.
AWS has trained more than four million people with basic, intermediate, advanced cloud skills in India since 2017
The study revealed that 21% of Indian organisations that run most of their business on the cloud reported doubling of their annual revenues, compared to 9% of those that use the cloud for some or none of their business. Cloud-based organisations are also 15 percentage points more likely to have introduced a new or improved product within the last two years.
With many organisations now preparing for the challenges of a digital future, the study looked at 10 emerging technologies including AI, edge and quantum computing, blockchain, and cryptocurrency. 92% of employers in India said that at least one of these technologies is likely to become a standard part of their future business operations, with 5G ranking the highest at 78%.
“As more organisations move their IT to the cloud over the next decade and new technologies emerge, digitisation is going to fuel a vast number of new jobs. The opportunity for India to be competitive in the digital economy depends on having a robust and highly skilled workforce to support current and future innovations,” said Jonathan Rothwell, Principal Economist, Gallup.
To help workers in India acquire advanced skills to further their careers, AWS also launched re-Start Associate, a new track under the AWS re-Start program to help unemployed and underemployed IT professionals in their mid-level careers modernise their cloud skills. In India, AWS is collaborating with Generation India Foundation, a non-profit education to employment organisation, to deliver the program locally. Globally AWS re-Start is a free multi-week, cohort-based workforce-development program that connects more than 98% of graduates with job interview opportunities.
“AWS has trained more than four million people with basic, intermediate, and advanced cloud skills in India since 2017, and our work doesn’t stop here,” said Amit Mehta, Head of Training and Certification, AWS India.
