Why demand for math skills is surging in the technology world

Till about a decade ago, if you specialised in mathematics, you would end up being a teacher or a researcher. That has changed dramatically. Specialists in the field in India are now among the most sought after in the financial and technology world. Many of today’s leading digital technologies – artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, big data, cyber security – need strong foundational knowledge of mathematics.

“Data science is based on three skill sets – a background in math or statistics, exposure in computer science, and business or domain knowledge,” says Ashok Kalidas, head of data science & innovation at research firm Kantar’s analytics practice. “Where a math graduate adds value is in the ability to understand the mathematics behind the models and innovate on top of that.”

Kalidas says AI and deep learning solutions can be implemented using software, but you need mathematics to understand the inner workings of these solutions. “A mathematics graduate will be able to interpret why you are getting certain types of results, whether it makes sense, how to modify some of it and go to the next level,” he says. Only mathematics will tell you under what circumstances a solution would work and in what circumstances it would not.

Swaminathan Padmanabhan, senior director of data science at software firm Freshworks, says that mathematics helps create unique and more effective ML models than those built using offthe-shelf libraries and automation platforms.

Chakra Mantena, MD and head of technology at Morgan Stanley India, says the company hires mathematics students in the fields of financial modelling and quantitative roles, which involve sitting with traders and helping them decide what to buy or sell.

“The products we help clients trade in are complex fixed income and derivative products which involve pricing them and projecting cash flows. And when you are doing risk analysis, how a certain trade may play out, some of the math involved is intense, and an engineer may not have had exposure to it,” he says.

This means topics such as probability, functional analysis, topology, algebraic geometry, number theory, and graph theory assume great importance. “People who have knowledge in algorithms, probability, linear algebra, statistical methods tend to get absorbed in the finance sector and research labs,” S Dharmaraja, head of the department of mathematics at IIT Delhi, says.

The growing need for math professionals is reflecting in developments at India’s leading educational institutions. The student intake at IIT-Madras’s mathematics department has more than doubled to 30 now, from 12 in 2018. Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI), which counts Ford, Crisil, Adobe and Credit Suisse among its recruiters, has seen pay packages double to Rs 15.5 lakh this year, from Rs 7.7 lakh six years ago.

“This year, the number of applications increased by almost 60% – to 1,200, from around 700 in the previous year – for the course which is focused on providing jobready skills in data science,” Madhavan Mukund, deputy director and dean of CMI, says.

Salman Abdul Moiz, chairman of the placement guidance and advisory bureau at the University of Hyderabad, points out that until 2016-17, a majority of the students from the school of mathematics and statistics would pursue careers in academics, but in the last two to three years, around 60% of the students are getting recruited by tech firms.

Anupam Kaura, president of HR at ratings & research firm Crisil, says a degree in math is important for his firm because the quantitative, statistical and analytical skills are applied to design, review and refine complex time series models to provide insights into business problems of customers, including regulatory compliances.

“Given that you need to look at a lot of data structures, run statistical tests, regression tests, these are roles for which an ISI (Indian Statistical Institute) graduate is more skilled than an engineer,” he says. Crisil usually hires annually from ISI Kolkata, CMI, Centre for Modelling and Simulation - Pune, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, besides the top IITs.

Many educational technology companies are hiring those with Master’s in math not just for teaching math but subjects like data science concepts, computer science algorithms, applied mathematics. “If you look at data scientists in research and in MNCs in technology and finance, they are all PhDs in mathematics,” says Kaushik Banerjee, VP and business head of staffing firm Teamlease.

Cloud software firm Zoho has hired pure math freshers to its research team for AI & ML-led projects. Shailesh Kumar Davey, co-founder and director of engineering, says such talent helps the engineering team by translating complex research concepts to simpler terms, thereby helping the latter develop good code. “Digital marketing roles also require candidates with knowledge of stats & math,” he says.

India needs a lot more of such skills. Neeraj Sharma, VP of HR at logistics software platform FourKites, says despite hiring from the top statistics schools, they face a skills gap for analytics roles. Data science jobs today, he says, require a knowledge of both statistics and computing techniques.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshowprint/80484247.cms

The workforce of the future requires an agile approach to learning

Although the current working population is tech-savvy and comprises quick learners, they still require indepth training to develop new skill-sets and, thus, adapt to be prepared for the work culture of tomorrow

The future of work or the jobs of tomorrow is one of the most common topics of discussion among today’s crowd. The traditional working culture is rapidly reshaping with automation taking charge. No doubt, these innovations will enhance the key processes of a business, and thus deliver customer satisfaction; these advances also raise an interesting question: is our workforce geared up for that shift? Organisations, therefore, must go for an agile approach to learning, which is the need of the hour in today’s job scenario.

MINT/FILE■ Automation may be the future but human presence will still be required in some jobs

Although the current working population is tech-savvy and comprises quick learners, they still require in-depth training to develop new skill-sets and, thus, adapt to the evolving work culture. Today, when we hear innovations like AI, big data or analytics, we do not fear about job losses but instead feel proud to use them, mostly for entertainment purposes. What we are witnessing today, especially through our smartphones, are the smallest forms of innovations. The “big” is still lying around the corner.

We are not aware of how these advances will dominate the future jobs, and those who fail to adapt will see their own fall. However, instead of considering it a threat, companies should nurture the existing skills of their employees and help them become masters of using these technologies. That’s how companies can make the best use of groundbreaking technologies and help their employees deliver better results.

CHALLENGES

If we think a tad deeper, it will be much easier to understand the root cause of the problem. Yes, it originates from the good old education system, which unfortunately has become obsolete, and urgently needs an overhaul. The gap between the industry requirements and offerings made by academic institutions has further widened. While 43 per cent of businesses annually revise/ update their learning models, 71 per cent of Higher Education Institutions (HEIS) work at the speed of a snail. They update their curriculum in every two to six years. Also, inadequate preparation of students in the job area combined with insufficient industry-academia interactions has significantly added to the skill gap. These initiatives are crucial in the current scenario to help students in understanding future jobs, and the skills required to excel.

INCREASING UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

A report by Accenture titled ‘Fuelling India’s Skill Revolution’ says that India,over the next decade, could have secured a $1.97 trillion worth of GDP growth by investing in intelligent technologies. But currently, 65-75% of the country’s youth entering the workforce are jobless due to the paucity of talent. This needs urgent attention. Both companies and educational institutions should go for predictive and agile approaches to identify skills and introduce curricula changes, respectively. They should understand that the current workforce needs to switch from “what to learn” to “how to learn”.

HARSH REALITY

A large number of IT professionals who signed up for higher studies or skill-augmentation courses were found to leave in the mid ofthese courses in between. And, when it comes to employees, many were put back on the same team, doing the same work, which they were already doing. If the skill upgrades are not utilised properly, how are we even expecting better results?

Besides, intelligent workforce strategies for upskilling existing employees fail if there is a largescale misalignment. Companies, in such case, should seriously identify the right fits that suit the evolving demands of the market.

AI AND JOBS

It’s a truism that AI will replace not only repetitive and low-end tasks but also some high-skilled white-collar jobs. There will be a time when such skills will also become irrelevant, and those who will fail to adopt these changes will turn jobless. However, in this replacement process, AI will also create newer jobs that will call for newer skills. Hence, companies should focus more on upskilling their existing employees through several training activities.

WHAT’S HAPPENING ELSEWHERE?

Many organisations are becoming successful in their endeavours as they are fearless in experimenting and taking newer measures to adopt innovations. With the utilisation of such advanced tools, they are changing their traditional methods of working and, thus, motivating employees to perform better in today’s fastmoving world.

It is crucial for businesses, educational institutions and governments to come together and develop a learning culture, where students, as well as employees, could feel curious to explore more and stay self-motivated to learn newer things in life. More importantly, companies will need “human-ness” as a crucial skill from employees. Other skills like self-motivation, resilience, empathy, flexibility, communication and creativity will play a critical role, too. All these factors will be considered important to work efficiently with the future intelligent systems and, hence, utilise their benefits.

To tackle the future uncertainty of jobs, the preparation should begin from school education itself, instead of being dependent on higher studies. The government should focus on helping students imbibe problem-solving skills, creativity and innovation through modifying the curricula and adding more interesting activities.

After passing senior secondary levels or class XII exams, as students enter colleges, the training modules should gradually advance with the introduction of workshops and academic interactions. This pragmatic approach will enrich students with practical insights into the industry and help them in deeply understanding the nature of real-time jobs.

THE WAY FORWARD

Automation and robots are the future, but humans need to stay beyond them in every aspect. They should perform things that robots cannot. After all, they are human creations and, thus, always require human control. The skills of today should modify, and candidates should be trained from the very core of school education. That’s how we can replace the skill mismatch with relevant skills. The future jobs will be more about exploring passion from the very beginning of childhood, and not only schools but parents will also have a vital role in this developmental journey.

Source: Hindustan Times (Jaipur Edition) dated 12 March, 2019

Skills needed for future job market

India finds itself at a unique advantage when compared to other nations due to its young population. However, a young population is both an opportunity as well as a problem depending on how the advantage is utilised to boost the economy. The rapidly growing population indicates the urgent need for skill development in order to enable the growing population to have meaningful employment. An education that places an emphasis on imparting skills over rote learning and memorisation is necessary to ensure that the youth are gainfully employed.

For India to maintain its stature of being the largest provider of skilled programmers and technologists, we will have to ensure that its populace is skilled accordingly so as to remain competitive in the global arena. What follows are five important skills that will continue to be in high demand in the Indian job market in the years to come.

CODING

Coding or programming in languages such as Javascript or Python has consistently been a skill that is in high demand. Many companies in the past few years have produced both hardware and software that feature augmented reality and machine learning. Individuals who possess the skills required to create, design and refine applications that make the most of these technologies and application programming interfaces, will be able to consistently secure rewarding employment.

MACHINE LEARNING

Machine learning (ML) being a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI), has proved itself to be one of the most important technological developments in the last few years as it facilitates algorithms and programes to continually learn and improve their efficiency with time. Individuals possessing a sound understanding of machine learning will ensure that they become integral components of both emerging and established corporations.

MOBILE DEVELOPMENT

Companies are constantly in need of mobile applications that make their product or service accessible to the growing target audience. An exciting direction in which mobile applications are currently headed in is integrating technologies such as augmented reality like Pokémon Go. Applications such as these blend elements from the environment around users making the content appearing on screen more engaging.

SEO/SEM

Companies are constantly on the lookout for individuals with digital marketing skills in order to be able to better their presence and visibility across the internet. This skill has an obvious advantage as greater exposure to users across the internet would result in more customers and thus revenue.

CYBER-SECURITY SPECIALISTS

It is no surprise that cybersecurity and information security are one of the highest paying and most wanted skillsets. Ransomware attacks such as WannaCry along with hardware vulnerabilities that were exhibited in MeltdownandSpectrehave become the new norm in modern society. As the world continues its reliance on outsourcing services such as cloud computing providers, coupled with internal networks that are vulnerable, the need for businesses to staff a skilled security team is of utmost importance.

These emerging skillsets will be evolving at an exponential pace and wrapping one’s head around them to stay ahead of the curve is essential. A young population can only become an asset if sufficient job opportunities are created and the youth is skilled enough to meet the aspirations of the populace.

The government has struck the right cords with ‘Skill India’ and ‘Make in India’ as well as providing the policy framework under ‘Ease of Doing Business’. However, a lot more needs to be done if we are to fully utilise youth potential. With focus on acquiring the required skillsets, the possibilities that lie before a youthful India are unlimited.

(The author is founder of Indian Institute of Digital Education)

Source: The Time of India dated March 4, 2019