Gig Workforce: Navigating the Surge in Demand for Freelance Tech Talent
The landscape of employment is undergoing a significant shift, with the gig workforce poised as a pivotal force in addressing the burgeoning tech talent demand-supply imbalance. Freelancers in the tech domain are witnessing a broad spectrum of earning potential, ranging from $5 to $400 per hour. This variance is largely dependent on the complexity of the tasks, with basic tasks fetching the lower end of the spectrum and advanced roles like senior AI engineers commanding premium rates.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for change in the talent acquisition domain, propelling firms to leverage the gig talent pool effectively. The adoption of gig workers not only furnishes companies with access to an expansive talent reservoir but also facilitates substantial savings on recruiting expenses. Anshuman Chaubey’s journey is illustrative of this emerging trend. With half a decade’s experience under his belt, Chaubey transitioned to gig roles subsequent to an internship at a multinational corporation, ultimately cultivating a small team to manage the burgeoning workload.
Insights from job portal foundit.com highlight a remarkable uptick in IT-related gig employment, now accounting for 30% of the job market, a striking increase from 12% at the end of March. Proficiencies in software development, data analytics, and UI/UX design are particularly in high demand within the gig economy.
Projections from a collaborative report by Nasscom and Aon suggest an optimistic future for India’s tech gig workforce, estimating a surge to 23.5 million by the year 2030, a substantial leap from 7 million in 2021. This anticipated growth indicates that gig workers are expected to represent 4.1% of India’s total workforce by fiscal 2030, marking a significant increase from 1.5% in FY22.
Observations from Manpower Group, a paramount entity in HR solutions, reveal a 10% year-over-year upsurge in demand for IT gig work. Sanju Ballurkar, president of Experis—Manpower Group’s tech staffing subsidiary, comments on the evolving perception towards gig employment, noting its efficiency and practicality for non-tech companies striving to fulfill tech-related needs without the necessity of a dedicated IT team.
Industries such as pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, and technology sectors are increasingly relying on gig workers to hasten their technology initiatives. Troogue.ai, a gig-based working platform, discloses that a majority (85%) of their projects are outsourced by Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in search of gig talent. This tendency is expected to proliferate as entities strive to streamline costs and capitalize on the burgeoning gig workforce.
Specialized skills in cloud computing, data science, and cybersecurity are particularly sought after in the gig domain, especially by firms aiming to develop hybrid cloud strategies within stringent data governance and compliance frameworks. As the gig economy continues to flourish, it represents a transformative era for tech professionals and corporations alike, heralding a new paradigm in the workforce landscape.
