77% of Gen Z students shows interest in technology industry: Report

The technology industry in India continues to draw Gen Z students with 77 per cent of them showing interest towards the sector, a report by Nasscom-Indeed said.

Millennials and Gen Zs constitute around 90 per cent of the tech workforce in India enabling higher generational diversity and driving a shift in preferences.

"Learning and Growth and Culture and Ethics are the top criteria for both Millennials and Gen Z when selecting an organisation, highlighting the employers' continued focus on skilling and upskilling to navigate the current work environment and develop their desired career paths," the Nasscom-Indeed Future of Work report 2024, which was released on Monday, said.

"The technology industry in India continues to be the industry of choice for Gen Z students with 77 per cent... showing interest towards the industry," it said.

The survey by Nasscom and Indeed involved 185 employers and over 2,500 individuals from current and future workforces.

As much as 84 per cent of organisations are exploring or are open to gig models, with startups and the Business Process Management (BPM) sector leading in hiring in this segment, it said.

For the future workforce, criteria for selecting an organisation remains similar, whereas career progression, compensation, benefits, and learning opportunities are the primary factors that drive them to continue with an organisation, it said.

The report examines the transformative landscape across three pivotal pillars -- the future of jobs, workforce dynamics, and the evolving workspace.

Generation Z refers to individuals born in late 1990s and the early 2010s.

The gig economy has profoundly transformed traditional job roles and organisational structures, leading to more diverse skills, increased resource allocation agility, dynamic team configurations, and updated role definitions.

"The primary drivers for Gen Zs and Millennials opting for gig roles are flexible job locations and a focus on specialised skills. Organisations are capitalising on gig workers in areas such as software development, data annotation, and business analytics, tapping into the benefits of on-demand talent and specialised expertise," it said.

The report further revealed that as more and more organisations embrace new technologies, there has been a rise in demand for specialist roles such as AI/ML scientist, quantum computing researcher, quantum AI developer, and blockchain specialist.

The report said among the most sought-after jobs, roles in data and analytics are in the lead, closely followed by positions that enhance customer experiences, automation, and efficiencies, particularly in AI and machine learning domains.

Expansion across Tier-II and III cities in India is gaining prominence as service-based organisations and global capability centres are looking to harness the untapped innovation potential concentrated in these emerging technology hubs, it added.

The report revealed that a majority of organisations are adopting a hybrid and flexible work approach, with office attendance guided by organisational needs and job profiles.

"The future of work will be defined by the dynamic balance between efficiency improvements from automation and the expansive potential of creativity unleashed by continuous innovation," Sangeeta Gupta, Senior VP and Chief Strategy Officer at Nasscom, said.