The arbitrage game is over....

All Indian companies have been playing the arbitrage game since the 1980s. These companies talk of going up the value chain, of having kicked the arbitrage game, etc. But, they are still steeped in it. Otherwise, why would they still hire in our colleges for ready-to-code experts? And in such large numbers….

The recent announcement by Infosys that it will be hiring 10,000 people in the US is being widely reported as a move to please President Trump and his administration. Whilst Infy says that it supports the idea of more American jobs, it also mentions the truth somewhere else. It talks of rapidly changing technology and the need to be closer to customers.

Technology has always been changing. There has always been a need to be closer to customers. There was always need for empathy. So, nothing new. What is new is that the change in technology is now more towards Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Digital, Analytics and Data Sciences. Machines are doing more of the work that humans were doing hitherto. This has resulted in significant skill set and business model changes. The education systems in Europe and US lend themselves to better meet the needs of the new age rather than the rote learning systems in India. The need now is more of Leaders…original thinkers…empathetic thinkers…design thinkers….and at scale. The need is more of people who are better at self-learning. Universities in US and Europe do not get students who are ready-to-use coders in languages like Java and C++. They prepare students who can learn and unlearn rapidly. That is the need of the hour.

However, Indian corporates cannot accept this bitter truth at this point in time. They have been too steeped in making money without realizing that the age of arbitrage has long passed over and new technologies need new skill sets. They have not pro-actively worked with Universities in India to demand a change in syllabus. We still teach what is relevant for the 1990s and the early 2000s. Our students are equipped for technologies of the past. It will take us years to catch up to build such skill sets at scale and in good quality. The US and European Universities are years ahead of us. However, demographics are not in favour of US and Europe. So, they will have to import talent from countries like India. Indians will now study in US and European Universities and get hired by the likes of Infosys in scale, not in India, but in various countries.

Indian corporates will be forced to hire in US and Europe. It is different that Rightist Governments in these geographies are pushing companies to hire locally. However, it suits Indian companies really well. Billings will be higher given changes in need for skill sets. So, Indian companies can afford to hire from across the world.

The question arises if Infosys can hire 10,000 in the US over the next 2 to 3 years. I am quite sure they can. There are thousands of computer engineers landing up in the US to study. They need to be hired and trained differently to make them useful to the new Digital Economy. Will it be a struggle? Absolutely yes. However, it can happen. Just imagine engineers from across the world learning at the Infosys Institute in Mysore…learning how to navigate this Digital World. And with teachers from across the world. That day is not far away and our corporates and schools have no choice but to change.